Unfortunately, due to willful ignorance, many people are fond of saying (and believing), "Don't knock something until you've tried it."
But that statement is completely fallacious and an utter lie! If someone
tells you not to touch something because it is hot and you will get burned, you
do not have to touch it in order to find out for yourself if what they are saying is true.
Sadly, there are a vast number of Christians and professing "Christians" out there who say precisely that with regard to the book The Shack. They are under the fallacious and misguided impression that a person cannot say anything about it unless they have read it themselves. That belief could not be farther from the truth.
I am sorry, but there are a great number of reputable pastors, teachers, and theologians whom I trust who
have read The Shack and warn of its dangers. I suggest reading Tim Challies' review or Albert Mohler's review. I also suggest you read this review. Why would I waste my time reading a piece of trash that was a waste of a tree just to print? People have attempted to compare The Shack with John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, but there is no comparison! Pilgrim's Progress is allegory based entirely upon Scripture, whereas The Shack is completely void of Scripture and contrary to Scripture and Christian doctrine. The ideas it promotes are all heretical.
Blind "Christians" attempt to argue that The Shack is merely fiction, but yet at the same time claim that it helped to heal them and make them better acquainted with God. The book may be fiction, but fiction can still present doctrinal beliefs and other errors as if they were legitimate facts. If an author writes a book wherein science supports a flat Earth, the book may be fiction but it is attempting to convey erroneous information that still has an effect upon its readers. Do not be ignorant! The book may have helped millions become better acquainted with a god, but certainly not the God of the Scriptures!
Michael Youssef identified 13 heresies contained within the pages of The Shack, which make the book not simply a work of fiction. Here are those 13 heresies:
- God the Father was crucified with Jesus.
- God is limited by His love and cannot practice justice.
- On the cross, God forgave all of humanity, whether they repent or not. Some choose a relationship with Him, but He forgives them all regardless.
- Hierarchical structures, whether they are in the church or in the government, are evil.
- God will never judge people for their sins.
- There is not a hierarchical structure in the Godhead, just a circle of unity.
- God submits to human wishes and choices.
- Justice will never take place because of love.
- There is no such thing as eternal judgment or torment in hell.
- Jesus is walking with all people in their different journeys to God, and it doesn’t matter which way you get to Him.
- Jesus is constantly being transformed along with us.
- There is no need for faith or reconciliation with God because everyone will make it to heaven.
- The Bible is not true because it reduces God to paper.
I recommend that you read the apologetic book Burning Down the Shack written by James B. De Young, who is well-acquainted with and was a close associate of William Paul Young. The two worked side-by-side at one point and so De Young can offer some insights into the mind of Young and his universalism.
The fact is, The Shack is not a Christian book, fictional or otherwise! It is a work of heresy that has lead a great many undiscerning individuals into a ditch of doctrinal errors and false belief. The god it has drawn people closer to certain is not the God of the Christian Bible! The Shack has drawn a great many undiscerning individuals into idolatry, worshiping a god that suits their own imaginations, created in their own images. Christian, read your Bible! Quit reading worthless trash that presents a false image of the God of Scripture! Like Charles Spurgeon said, many of you "Christians" have enough dust on the cover of your Bible(s) that you could write "Damnation" upon it/them. You claim to be a Christian and to love Jesus, yet you never read His Word and dwell upon it, letting it permeate within you and change you more and more into the image of Christ Jesus.
Christian, do not waste your money by spending it to see The Shack in the movie theatres, or by buying it when it comes to BluRay and DVD. Do not give your money to support error and heresy. If you want to put your money to good use, purchase the four (4) word-for-word live-action film adaptations of the Gospels put out by the Lumo Project: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.