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The Shack — The Missing Art of Evangelical Discernment

I’m passing on this article from 2010 republished March 7, 2017 by Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. It will sharpen your discernment and help to prevent your theology from being developed by the false ideas of the world and doctrine of demons while helping to reinforce and develop your biblical knowledge. We should not so easily be misled by the evil one.

Bro. Ralph

The following is by Al Mohler, originally published in its entirety at: http://www.albertmohler.com/2017/03/06/shack-missing-art-evangelical-discernment/

The publishing world sees very few books reach blockbuster status, but William Paul Young’s The Shack has now exceeded even that. The book, originally self-published by Young and two friends, has now sold more than 10 million copies and has been translated into over thirty languages. It is now one of the best-selling paperback books of all time, and its readers are enthusiastic.

According to Young, the book was originally written for his own children. In essence, it can be described as a narrative theodicy -- an attempt to answer the question of evil and the character of God by means of a story. In this story, the main character is grieving the brutal kidnapping and murder of his seven-year-old daughter when he receives what turns out to be a summons from God to meet him in the very shack where the man’s daughter had been murdered.

In the shack, “Mack” meets the divine Trinity as “Papa,” an African-American woman; Jesus, a Jewish carpenter; and “Sarayu,” an Asian woman who is revealed to be the Holy Spirit. The book is mainly a series of dialogues between Mack, Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu. Those conversations reveal God to be very different than the God of the Bible. “Papa” is absolutely non-judgmental, and seems most determined to affirm that all humanity is already redeemed.

The theology of The Shack is not incidental to the story. Indeed, at most points the narrative seems mainly to serve as a structure for the dialogues. And the dialogues reveal a theology that is unconventional at best, and undoubtedly heretical in certain respects.

While the literary device of an unconventional “trinity” of divine persons is itself sub-biblical and dangerous, the theological explanations are worse. “Papa” tells Mack of the time when the three persons of the Trinity “spoke ourself into human existence as the Son of God.” Nowhere in the Bible is the Father or the Spirit described as taking on human existence. The Christology of the book is likewise confused. “Papa” tells Mack that, though Jesus is fully God, “he has never drawn upon his nature as God to do anything. He has only lived out of his relationship with me, living in the very same manner that I desire to be in relationship with every human being.” When Jesus healed the blind, “He did so only as a dependent, limited human being trusting in my life and power to be at work within him and through him. Jesus, as a human being, had no power within himself to heal anyone.”

While there is ample theological confusion to unpack there, suffice it to say that the Christian church has struggled for centuries to come to a faithful understanding of the Trinity in order to avoid just this kind of confusion -- understanding that the Christian faith is itself at stake.

Jesus tells Mack that he is “the best way any human can relate to Papa or Sarayu.” Not the only way, but merely the best way.

In another chapter, “Papa” corrects Mack’s theology by asserting, “I don’t need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It’s not my purpose to punish it; it’s my joy to cure it.” Without doubt, God’s joy is in the atonement accomplished by the Son. Nevertheless, the Bible consistently reveals God to be the holy and righteous Judge, who will indeed punish sinners. The idea that sin is merely “its own punishment” fits the Eastern concept of karma, but not the Christian Gospel.

The relationship of the Father to the Son, revealed in a text like John 17, is rejected in favor of an absolute equality of authority among the persons of the Trinity. “Papa” explains that “we have no concept of final authority among us, only unity.” In one of the most bizarre paragraphs of the book, Jesus tells Mack: “Papa is as much submitted to me as I am to him, or Sarayu to me, or Papa to her. Submission is not about authority and it is not obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect. In fact, we are submitted to you in the same way.”

The theorized submission of the Trinity to a human being -- or to all human beings -- is a theological innovation of the most extreme and dangerous sort. The essence of idolatry is self-worship, and this notion of the Trinity submitted (in any sense) to humanity is inescapably idolatrous.

The most controversial aspects of The Shack‘s message have revolved around questions of universalism, universal redemption, and ultimate reconciliation. Jesus tells Mack: “Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims, Democrats, Republicans and many who don’t vote or are not part of any Sunday morning or religious institutions.” Jesus adds, “I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters, my Beloved.”

Mack then asks the obvious question -- do all roads lead to Christ? Jesus responds, “Most roads don’t lead anywhere. What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you.”

Given the context, it is impossible not to draw essentially universalistic or inclusivistic conclusions about Young’s meaning. “Papa” chides Mack that he is now reconciled to the whole world. Mack retorts, “The whole world? You mean those who believe in you, right?” “Papa” responds, “The whole world, Mack.”

Put together, all this implies something very close to the doctrine of reconciliation proposed by Karl Barth. And, even as Young’s collaborator Wayne Jacobson has lamented the “self-appointed doctrine police” who have charged the book with teaching ultimate reconciliation, he acknowledges that the first editions of the manuscript were unduly influenced by Young’s “partiality at the time” to ultimate reconciliation -- the belief that the cross and resurrection of Christ accomplished then and there a unilateral reconciliation of all sinners (and even all creation) to God.

James B. DeYoung of Western Theological Seminary, a New Testament scholar who has known William Young for years, documents Young’s embrace of a form of “Christian universalism.” The Shack, he concludes, “rests on the foundation of universal reconciliation.”

Even as Wayne Jacobson and others complain of those who identify heresy within The Shack, the fact is that the Christian church has explicitly identified these teachings as just that -- heresy. The obvious question is this: How is it that so many evangelical Christians seem to be drawn not only to this story, but to the theology presented in the narrative -- a theology at so many points in conflict with evangelical convictions?

Evangelical observers have not been alone in asking this question. Writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Professor Timothy Beal of Case Western University argues that the popularity of The Shack suggests that evangelicals might be shifting their theology. He cites the “nonbiblical metaphorical models of God” in the book, as well as its “nonhierarchical” model of the Trinity and, most importantly, “its theology of universal salvation.”

Beal asserts that none of this theology is part of “mainstream evangelical theology,” then explains: “In fact, all three are rooted in liberal and radical academic theological discourse from the 1970s and 80s -- work that has profoundly influenced contemporary feminist and liberation theology but, until now, had very little impact on the theological imaginations of nonacademics, especially within the religious mainstream.”

He then asks: “What are these progressive theological ideas doing in this evangelical pulp-fiction phenomenon?” He answers: “Unbeknownst to most of us, they have been present on the liberal margins of evangelical thought for decades.” Now, he explains, The Shack has introduced and popularized these liberal concepts even among mainstream evangelicals.

Timothy Beal cannot be dismissed as a conservative “heresy-hunter.” He is thrilled that these “progressive theological ideas” are now “trickling into popular culture by way of The Shack.”

Similarly, writing at Books & Culture, Katherine Jeffrey concludes that The Shack “offers a postmodern, post-biblical theodicy.” While her main concern is the book’s place “in a Christian literary landscape,” she cannot avoid dealing with its theological message.

In evaluating the book, it must be kept in mind thatThe Shack is a work of fiction. But it is also a sustained theological argument, and this simply cannot be denied. Any number of notable novels and works of literature have contained aberrant theology, and even heresy. The crucial question is whether the aberrant doctrines are features of the story or the message of the work. When it comes to The Shack, the really troubling fact is that so many readers are drawn to the theological message of the book, and fail to see how it conflicts with the Bible at so many crucial points.

All this reveals a disastrous failure of evangelical discernment. It is hard not to conclude that theological discernment is now a lost art among American evangelicals -- and this loss can only lead to theological catastrophe.

The answer is not to ban The Shack or yank it out of the hands of readers. We need not fear books -- we must be ready to answer them. We desperately need a theological recovery that can only come from practicing biblical discernment. This will require us to identify the doctrinal dangers of The Shack, to be sure. But our real task is to reacquaint evangelicals with the Bible’s teachings on these very questions and to foster a doctrinal rearmament of Christian believers.

The Shack is a wake-up call for evangelical Christianity. An assessment like that offered by Timothy Beal is telling. The popularity of this book among evangelicals can only be explained by a lack of basic theological knowledge among us -- a failure even to understand the Gospel of Christ. The tragedy that evangelicals have lost the art of biblical discernment must be traced to a disastrous loss of biblical knowledge. Discernment cannot survive without doctrine.

This article was based on the novel and was originally published in 2010.

Publication date: March 7, 2017

 

Posted by Ralph Sawyer with
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GRANDPARENTS………Leaving a Legacy of Faith

“…..Teach what you have seen and heard to your children AND grandchildren.’ Deuteronomy 4:9b (MSG)

Little did I realize as a young child that my precious grandparents were living out what the Bible reveals about the importance of the generation-to-generation pattern of leaving a legacy of faith in Jesus Christ. That legacy would outlive them through their children, grandchildren, and the generations to follow. Psalms 78: 5-6 (ESV) tells us, “He (God) commanded our forefathers to teach their children so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.”

My grandparents always had time for me and my sister and brother, playing with us, encouraging us, and telling us of God’s great love for us. Even when my grandparents were in their 90’s, they would always tell me to sit down on the sofa and ask me how they could pray for me. Then my grandpa would take my hand and pray for me. Chuck, on the other hand, had little experience with the vital role of Christian grandparents in his life. He only had one living grandparent who lived hundreds of miles away from him. He saw her very little throughout his childhood. As a couple, we understand the impact of the two extremes when it comes to the influence of grandparents passing on their faith to their grandchildren.

We attended the Legacy Grandparenting Summit in November of 2016. God used this experience in our lives to help us see what an enormous impact grandparents have on their grandchildren. Two questions the conference leaders posed to attendees were:

  1. Do you have an example of a godly grandparent?
  2. How do you know or learn to become a godly grandparent?”

Being a biblically based grandparent is so much more than the world’s view of spoiling your grandchildren, feeding them sugar, and sending them home.

Research shows that grandparents have a large influence on the faith of their grandchildren, second only to parents. Grandparents have also been given a God-ordained role in the Bible. “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.” Psalm 145:4 (NKJV).

Believe it or not, the average age a person becomes a grandparent is age 47. That gives us many years to be able to influence our grandchildren. There are 30 million professing Christian grandparents in America. What a huge potential to impact the lives of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Just imagine the impact the grandparents of FBCW could have if we lived out our biblical mandate concerning our place and purpose in the family.

The purpose of beginning a Grandparenting Ministry at FBCW is to equip grandparents to use their influence to pass their Christin faith on to future generations. We are asking that the grandparents of FBCW prayerfully ask God if you should be a part of this vision to leave a legacy of faith for your grandchildren and future generations by becoming involved in the grandparenting ministry.

We will begin with small group grandparenting study groups in the spring and summer and hold a day-long grandparenting conference in the fall. As grandparents, could you benefit from a greater vision of your role as a godly grandparent and benefit from having more grandparenting tools at your disposal? We are excited about what can be accomplished when Christian grandparents are encouraged and equipped to be intentional about the spiritual growth of our grandchildren.

Group study topics will include, but not limited to:

  • What is the Biblical role of a grandparent
  • How to pass faith to future generations
  • Loving grandkids in scary times
  • Never too late: Encouraging faith in your adult children
  • Grandparenting through a child’s divorce
  • The art of single grandparenting
  • Passing on a Heritage of Faith with enthusiasm and joy
  • How to pray and read the Bible with your grandchildren
  • Unleashing the power of a spoken blessing
  • Activities to engage your grandkids while sharing your faith

Grandparents Prayer: “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.” Psalm 71:18 (NIV)

 

Posted by Chuck & Barb Mason with

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