Episode Details

This week, Christians are asking all over again why a good God would allow people to suffer. Fifteen years ago in the summer of 2008, many debated the same topic after a little indie book hit it big. The Shack by William P. Young (and guests) followed a man called Mack who sought spiritual healing from fictional versions of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This did and did not go over well. What now do we think of The Shack and its deconstruction of evangelical ideas, and arguably Bible doctrine itself?

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Episode sponsors

1. Enclave Publishing: Estuary by Lisa T. Bergren
2. The Author Conservatory
3. Lorehaven Summer Reading Challenge

Quotes and notes:

• Six Lies Christians Believe About ‘The Shack’
• Seven More Lies Christians Believe About ‘The Shack’
• 69. How Can Faithful Stories Best Show Backslidden Heroes?

The Shack went largely unnoticed for over a year after its initial publication, but suddenly became a very popular seller in mid-2008, when it debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times paperback fiction best seller list on June 8 (“Christian Novel Is Surprise Best Seller,” The New York Times, June 24, 2008). Its success was the result of a “word-of-mouth, church-to-church, blog-to-blog campaign” by Young, Jacobsen and Cummings in churches and Christian-themed radio, websites, and blogs.

—The Shack entry on Wikipedia

• God and Fiction – A Look at The Shack, Part 1, Rebecca LuAlla Miller, May 25, 2009
• “The Shack Impressions,” Timothy Keller, Jan. 27, 2010
• “What Does ‘The Shack’ Say About Your Pain?”, David Mathis at Desiring God, March 2, 2017
• “The Shack: Biblical Discernment Is Key in Evaluating Any Book or Movie, Plus Concerns about Paul Young’s New Book Lies We Believe About God,” Randy Alcorn, Feb. 20, 2017

Concession stand

• We’ll assume certain ideas are heresy, and yes, we’ll use the H-word.
• Heresy doesn’t mean denomination ideas about secondary issues.
• Heresy does mean ideas that directly challenge God’s nature and gospel.
• Many people loved The Shack. As we’ll see, we won’t pick on those folks.
• Lo