A friend of mine sent me a copy and I'm about half way through it. Very interesting. Definitely not a book to base doctrine on but thought provoking nonetheless.

Anyone else read it?

YES!!
I had never heard of it, and my sis gave it to me last week to read. VERY INTERESTING!!!
I have thought alot about it this week. What did you think?

I'm like you...it's thought provoking. I'm almost done with it so I don't know exactly how it ends but it's been a good read. I have problems with it doctrinally but putting that aside, just the fact that it causes you to look at God outside of the box is interesting.

What about you?

I love the way he describes things...........like giving the man a "choice" of who to send to hell. It's sort of "Freeing" in a way when you look at the world and evil outside our "normal".
He's very good at describing God's mercy/grace.
Have you read anything about the author? He has some websites, and he's also on youtube if you google him there. He's had an interesting life, which the book was somewhat written about. He wrote the book for his children.

Is that possibly the book that was just recommended to me today. I thought she was saying The Shock. Is it about a father's reaction to the loss of his young daughter?

That's the same book Nancie.

Ok, Suzie, are you done with it? What did you think?
Nancie, are you reading it yet?

Honestly? Maybe I've lived through too much suffering to give a impartial review on the book but since you asked.

Although I think it was a good story...it was just that, a story, based lightly on truth. What started out being a good book, quickly went downhill when I read statements by "Papa" like,

"... just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies doesn't mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don't ever assume that my using something means I caused it or that I need it to accomplish my purposes. That will only lead to false notions about me." (page 185)

That statement is dangerous to a new Christian who is wrestling with scriptures outlining the sovereignty of God especially where the suffering and crucifixion of Christ is concerned.

If the person reading the book has a good biblical understanding of scripture, I think they can look past the obvious errors and see the book for what it is, a man's attempt at explaining suffering but if that same person wants the truth, they should start with prayer, open their bible to the book of Job and seek their answer based on scripture and not an experience.

I've gone from one end of the spectrum to the other in my own attempts to try to explain the daily suffering I see when I look into Vanessa's eyes. On one end, I've blamed God, been angry with Him and even walked away from Him for a period of time. On the other end, I've completely let Him off the hook, believing that He had nothing to do with her suffering and exonerating Him of all blame.

Scripture and prayer have landed me somewhere in the middle, safely nestled in God's sovereign hand. We live in a world filled with sin and disease and being a Christian does not make us immune from their effects. I see examples in scripture where some sickness is caused from demonic attacks, some are just the weakness in the human body and others are directed from the throne of God. With that in mind I have to then look to see from whom would her healing come? Doctors? God? The authority given to me by being a child of God?

With that in mind, the question I've had to answer for myself is simple, "If God is to blame for Vanessa's suffering, will I walk away from Him?"

If God is directly responsible for your suffering, would you walk away from Him?

It's a question each one of us has to wrestle with. I've come to the conclusion that I have no where else to go but into His healing arms. That doesn't mean that I accept her suffering but instead, I continue to seek Him for a solution to it.

That's my fight of faith.

Reading through the author's biography, it's obvious that he has suffered incredible pain in his life, and was in need of much healing. In reading, The Shack, I'm afraid he invented his own version of God which is not the God of the bible. Finding the true God will be Young's fight of faith.

I just had this VERY conversation with a teacher after school today. I'm going to share what you said with her, if that's ok.

I read it and felt very bothered by things. Many of my opinions are like Suzies.
One thing that really truly bothered me--I spent time on the book's forum.
I saw pagans, unbelievers, and believing moderators sending them to pagan web sites.
Hooking up pagans together so they could talk on the same thread.
One gal said after reading the book she saw no reason to obey God because there are no rules and God is on equal grounds with her.
Many of the moderators do not know the first thing about pointing someone to correct Scripture or a relationship with Jesus.
Church membership is often put down as being unnecessary. I was literally sttacked because the book bothered me and didnt strike me as appropriate.

Then, I was bothered by the plan to put the book into the hands of our military and those in other countries. I asked is it not more important to put the Bible in these hands. I asked the same of the publishers, but got no reply.

My final thought, the author is currently speaking in many pulpits across the country, but, he doesnt have a church nor does he have a desire apparently to join one.

I dont know. I get so very very much more from chapters like Isaiah 6. The Bible itself is the source of truth and yes, even moves me beyond all words. I did not get that from the book. I also belong to a number of other blogs, and forums and one Christian online book club and the women there have quite often said the same thing.
They want their truth and their emotions to come from reading His word.
And I say this not to put anyone down who liked the book. But I think you need to be very very careful who you suggest it to, and I think you need to be firmly planted in the Word when you read it.

It seems like we're all on the same page.

Maybe the whole Oprah/Tolle teachings are still too fresh in my mind and causing me to be weary of anything that is endorsed as, "the book that has the potential to do for our generation what Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his" when in reality is not based on scripture but a man's interpretation of scripture.

I have to admit, I did like it at first but I thought it was going in a different direction. I would suggest reading Chuck Swindoll's, "Job" if you've been put through the fire instead of "The Shack".

I liked it b/c it really brought home how accessible God is...which is something I have thoroughly enjoyed discovering for myself lately.

Quite fanciful; a little heavy-handed in parts; nothing to base your life on.


He did bring up some really nuts-and-bolts questions, and had the chutzpah to deal with them head-on.

But I'm with you, Suze; that is the main question: Do I trust Him? And another: Do I trust Him despite suffering? And then: Do I trust Him even when He causes the suffering?

If He is the one Who causes barrenness, blindness, and deafness (explicitly stated in the OT), it is not much of a jump at all to extend it to other forms of suffering. I can hear this only when I think of a surgeon, causing pain to relieve disease...

I'm with the disciple who said, "Where else would we go, Lord?" But I hear annoyance rather than pure devotion in that statement as I get older!

He is our Life; our Healer; our All in All. The Shack may open discussions, may help people verbalize the questions in their hearts, but it is woefully inadequate in its description of God; it just shows a tiny corner of His character, in a fictional manner, with fiction's inherant limitations and distortions.

Remember, though, that many people are not choosing between The Shack and Christianity; they are finding in The Shack a hint of a God they have never encountered, and often have never heard about from the pulpits of their churches. May He use it to draw people closer to Him; may He use it to His glory...