Thoughts about negative reviews of "The Shack"

March 20, 2008

(At my daughter's island home)

Nice trip!

Read that review of The Shack and the conversation that arose out of it, again this morning…
1. It is absolutely true we need to make sure things line up with the Word of God.
2. We do need to follow the Word of God – but also hear the Spirit, and be in relationship with God… which is a process, a growing thing – and yes, an emotional thing as well as an intellectual thing! (Which is what so many Christians seem to be missing out on…)
3. Good theology is important… but it seems clear to me that we have not learned all that God means for us… and doubtless He is keeping plenty in the “mystery” category – including (and perhaps most of all) Himself! (not least because He is God Almighty and way above and beyond us – especially in our weak, fleshly, sin-trodden state, but generally and obviously, too.
4. We sure do see things through our personal paradigms… and maybe they aren’t perfect! (You think?!?) … including (oh horrors!) our “theological preferences” – that really stood out in the review and responses
5. I found it odd, in the review, how he even came up with some of the things… I didn’t see that at all… even after reading the review and thinking about it a lot… I think he really is pretty hyper-Calvinist?? (the reviewer I mean)
6. BUT there were a couple things I too was a bit uneasy about… but not to the point of thinking the writer was a universalist or Hindu! Could he really be? That one writer who claims to “know him” seems to be sure… claims there is a “100 page document” to prove it… and what about the whole Hindu thing? I don’t know enough about either to refute or agree…
7. But like one writer pointed out… a. it’s a novel, not an exacting theological treatise; and b. it’s about RELATIONSHIP!