“The Shack” Author Interview June 2, 2008
Posted by Paul Edwards in Uncategorized.Tags: The Shack, Wayne Jacobson, William P. Young, William Paul Young
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“The Shack” is the talk of the evangelical Christian community right now. Originally self-published by the author and intended solely as a gift for his six children, the fictional account of a troubled man’s meeting with God in an abandoned shack in the Oregon wilderness is now number 8 at Amazon and just today hit number one on The New York Times paperback trade fiction list.
But does the diaglogue between “God” and the lead character “Mack” subtlely introduce theological error regarding the authority of Scripture, the nature of the Trinity, the dual nature of Jesus Christ as God/Man, the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the only Savior, the wrath of God against sin - especially in terms of what Jesus actually accomplished on the cross, and Eastern/New Age Mysticism? Wayne Jacobsen, a collaborator on the book along with the author, William Paul Young, has responded to these allegations in a recent post at his Lifestream blog.
William Paul Young, the author of The Shack, will be my guest for the full first hour of The Paul Edwards Program on Monday, June 2.
“Originally self-published by the author and intended solely as a gift for his six children, the fictional account of a troubled man’s meeting with God in an abandoned shack in the Oregon wilderness…”
When literature is taken out of context and it’s original purpose…we are bound to have controversy.
Since Mr. Young’s children know him in a “up-close-and-personal” way, they probably have a better understanding and feel for what their father was trying to convey with his story. The book was not actually written for us, the general Christian public. It seems a bit unnecessary to analyse it for correctness of Christian doctrine…it is after all, a work of fiction. When we as Christians choose to read such literature, (fiction) we should always be aware that the views set forth may contradict Biblical principles and proceed with caution.
I have begun blogging for my friends and family simply for fun. While I write about Jesus and His influence on my life, if the views I put forth in such a format, are critiqued for actual doctrinal correctness, I’m sure the limited space left to the current internet infastructure could easily be overtaken. *; )
I read Wayne Jacobsen’s entry in his blog, and thought it was odd that he felt he needed to “defend” the book with such a long post in stead of simply recommending it.
My curiosity sent me off to find other writings about the book and I came across the actual blog of William Paul Young. The link is below. While I will still most likely never read his book, his blog makes for rather interesting reading. His short self-bio was rather interesting as well and gives a better idea as to the possible background of his particular view of Christianity…
The link to the bio is here:
http://www.theshackbook.com/willie.html
The link to his blog is here:
http://www.windrumors.com/