While the theological implications of the popular novel are at the forefront of debate, here’s a somewhat different take…
Well, I have read the book. What do I think? I actually have more concern about the “sociological” side of the book than the “theological” side. While the book is largely a fictional exploration of the Trinity that is very moving and engaging (and at times brought tears to my eyes) I think the real “issue” will be how folks now view the church. There are several statements in the book that give the clear impression that “God is good”, “organized church……not necessary and not so good”. I said this to my wife the moment I was finished reading it. While we both enjoyed it and found it moving….we read it from a perspective of being in the church and understanding the short comings of the local church but still committed to work in the world of human limitations as we find it in the visible local church which is the visible body of Christ.
Many people will read The Shack and say to themselves,
- “I knew it….God is interested in my life and me personally”
- “I don’t need that organized, institutionalized, politicized, narrowly focused, guilt inducing association called the church”.
- “I can have all the rich relationship with God without any of the guilt, hassle, inconvenience, obligation, of that time and money demanding association.”
- “God is so much bigger than that so why grovel around in the lesser when I can ‘free myself’ to enjoy the joys of the more fuller relationship with Him.”
Why do I say this? Because my unchurched, unsaved neighbors who read it and loved it and who bought more copies to share with their friends….came to exactly this conclusion. So while I love the book….it will ultimately make the job of convincing anyone who is exploring Christianity by reading The Shack about the need to be in a local church and having a relationship with other believers — that they will actually spend eternity with — that much more difficult. In fact the book sort of makes it sound like Jesus wouldn’t want to be in a local church either. I guess if that gets them into the Kingdom….in some form….I can live with it….but somehow it leaves me with a little bit of “pain”. I guess I also have to ask myself if that is the case, then maybe I don’t want to share it with anyone and in fact, anything that bereft of some balancing ecclesiology is in fact really somewhat heretical. I mean we all struggle with local churches… and we know they are not perfect, or in some cases even good….but we simply don’t have anything better or different to replace them with that “works” in some way that is enduring.
In some ways I think The Shack has potential to do much more damage to the local church than did the Da vinci Code. That was a frontal assault on the church which most Christians vigorously rejected. This is somewhat of an unintentional attack on the necessity of the church as an institution and basically gets an arguably theologically “sort of correct” version of God saying, “You don’t really need the church”. What is likely to happen the next time someone gets disappointed with a local church is that they will remember The Shack and say passionately to God…..”I love you”….. and then just skip going to church….and probably not come back.
Of course they will never stop to consider their kids that will not read The Shack or probably continue with the children’s and youth program or the church or maybe even with faith. There will be no relationship [for those kids] with a youth pastor formed that could have helped them in their struggles or questioning of their beliefs. There will be no interest in or passion for the missionaries that are planting churches that no longer get supported, or the local food bank, youth shelter or meals on wheels programs that the local church was sponsoring that ministered to the community that now just have that many fewer resources to continue on with etc. That will never cross their mind. All they will think is that God loves “ME”. So while I love the book in some ways….I think in the long run it will do as much damage as good for the Christian movement. While perhaps without trying, what it will wind up promoting is a kind of egocentric Christianity where it “is all about me….oh yeah and God, too.”
David Fowler is a church planter and pastor in Ontario, Canada with the Christian & Missionary Alliance Church and has an earned doctorate in education from the University of Toronto. He originally wrote this as a personal note to me, but gave permission to use it here. Some of my response to him is in the comments section. Yours are invited, too!
For an additional comment on The Shack on this blog, click here.
There’s also another short post on this blog here that links to a series of three radio interviews, two with the author and one with a theologian from Regent University.
Very, very good analysis. As big a fan as I am of the book, you’ve identified something that is also definitely there. I know that for two reasons: First, I was reading Frank Viola’s Pagan Christianity at the same time as I read Shack. So I was getting a double dose of anti-IC sentiment all in the same week. (IC=Institutional Church) Second, of the three books published by Windblown Media, I read Shack last.
The second point is key. From the time William Paul Young wrote the manuscript for his family to the time it was published in the form you and I have seen, there is 18 months of editing, mostly by Wayne Jacobsen. If you had read Wayne’s books *He Loves Me* and *So You Don’t Want To Go To Church Anymore* you would see Wayne’s editing and influence all over every page of Shack. The message in *So You Don’t…* is more strongly anti-IC. It’s a good message; one that needs to be heard; “church” itself doesn’t save; the first century church wasn’t much like what we have today; programs can’t reach people like other people can reach them; …I agree with all that. But then again, I have certain filters which kick in to recognize when an author has “agenda.” I like Wayne Jacobsen, and I strongly encourage people to read the other book(s). But there is an agenda at work here, that often gets glossed over in discussions about the way the Trinity is presented. (Another good companion read might be Zondervan’s They Like Jesus But Not The Church available in print and DVD.)
However, I’m not as pessimistic about the long-term effects as you are; though I truly appreciate the depth and variety of the potential consequences you list. This is going to be the religious book of the decade, far eclipsing anything we saw with *Purpose Driven Life.* It presents a window into Christianity which is — on several levels — Biblical, even if it involves a different interpretation of Biblical Christianity than we usually find in mainstream Evangelicalism. Millions of people who are reading this are getting a glimpse of Christian belief that is closer to orthodox than anything Oprah might recommend, Rush Limbaugh’s conservative audience might profess, or Joel Osteen might present on television. (Granted, not great comparisons! But very well-known, high-profile comparisons nonetheless.) I can see people reading this and seeking out a local church. In fact, I’m going to stick my neck out and bet that in the next six months, you’ll encounter at least one individual or family who comes to you citing *Shack* as a factor in their spiritual quest.
Comment by paulthinkingoutloud — September 3, 2008 @ 9:37 am