The Shack - Revisited!

A new book by C Baxter Kruger, PH.D. is an indepth review/commentary/theological discussion on the popular book THE SHACK published a few years ago by William Paul Young that spurred discussion on many fronts - mostly in favor of and a few who attacked him for heresy. When I see something labeled heresy, I read it. THE SHACK REVISITED needs to be read AFTER reading The Shack, hence the word Revisited. A lot of discussion goes into the thoughts and struggles of Paul Young who had a tumultous early life and had come to know God (Papa), Jesus, and Saraya (The Holy Spirit) in more relational terms outside the boundaries of conformed doctrine. (hence the attackes of heresy as God is portrayed as a middle aged african american woman) and other issues. Kruger examines these characters closely in light of the struggles of all of us, including the main character Mackenzie (loosely a reflection of Paul Young) and goes into depth on the trinitarian nature of God, Jesus and Holy Spirit and where these three meet us in our lives. Its not a lectionary book. Its not supportive of doctrine. It is reflective. Thoughtful. Insightful. Which is why I guess Paul Young and Kruger have become friends and have toured together all over the place (US, Europe, etc) talking about these two books and sharing their stories and insights. Reading THE SHACK REVISITED makes me want to reread THE SHACK again in a different light, now that I know more of the motivation behind why Paul Young wrote the story and his life journey. If you are a fan of THE SHACK, you will want to read this. ~npp

The Shack by William P Young

I have just finished the book titled "The Shack" by William P Young.(www.theshackbook.com)
Now I can't tell you much about the author. He was unknown to me before reading this book, but apparently was not unknown to God as it is evident that some message is being spoken here, through this fiction, that isn't fiction. I won't tell you about the books content because that will ruin it for you. I can tell you its worth hours of your time.

Originally my best friend Ricky D called me and said "you have got to read this book" and delved off into its content and coolness and read me an excerpt over the phone. Now Ricky D is one of the most interesting thinkers of modern jesus stuff I know, and is always reading this or that and getting entangled in something or the other. I, however, can't keep up with him for the most part and have to selectively figure out which book to read or movie to watch. But in less than a week, our associate pastor came up to me and asked, "Hey, have you read The Shack?"...

so okay, I get the message. No, not The Message bible, the message from the Holy Spirit or God or whatever it is that reinforces that you should do something. So I buy it. First my spouse gets it and is completely enthralled in the content. This is fascinating because she typically doesn't read much and especially theological/spiritual/christian dominated stuff. But she read it all quickly and liked it.

Back to my opening paragraph. I just got through with it. And though it wasn't a total eye-opener in my terms of how and what I see Christianity as being, it was presented in a way that evoked emotional responses from me. This guy Young has some really good insights on the nature and interactions of man and god. Parts of the story forced me to deal with some of my own stuff, reminded me of segments of my own spiritual journey dealing with tragedy and understanding and anger at God and questioning... and the list goes on.

So, if you have the time, I would recommend "The Shack". Go to WalMart or Sams or wherever and get a copy. Its under $10 bucks. Do it today after work. Go soak in a hot bath and start reading. The first part is hard to get through - but totally worth it. Kind of like life. ~npp