On March 3^rd of 2017 a screen adaptation of The Shack, by William Paul Young will be released.  It breaks my heart to be writing this.  For the book, itself is blaspheme.  I tried reading it once, as several in my church recommended it to me, but I could not stomach the text.  That being said, what I read and what I have researched from credible sources, comes with enough concern for me to advise you to be prepared to talk about the book, but do not be given into the sin of making God in your own image.

Through a loose allegory, God is perceived, by Young in ways that were never meant to be.  God is portrayed in man’s own image or at least fanciful imagination.  Young makes God out as he desires God to be, and none of it is solidly rooted in scripture, but by twisted interpretation.

At the risk of perking a curiosity, and in a need to bring about information that will help you in conversations with those who will inevitably discuss the movie and book, I want to share two articles that were written in years past analyzing the poor theology of this tome.

The first article, The Missing Art of Evangelical Discernment, by Al Mohler deals with how we so often lack the necessary discernment to guard our hearts.

The second article is of the same era, “The Shack by WIlliam P. Young,” by Tim Challies.  It is a lengthier article, focusing more on the content of the book itself.

Many times, people hold to a story or idea because it pulls at the heartstrings.  But this should cause us to remember, Satan himself uses this tactic, and we are warned explicitly in scripture that

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (2Ti 4:3-4)

Remember, God gave us His word as our first source for discerning truth from falsehood.  The Bible was written that we can know God.  We do not need the help of Mr. Young to do this.  It is the sheep of God who hear His voice and discern it form the voice of others.  Pray for those who may be led astray by The Shack.  Pray that they may come to the true Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

However, the problem at hand is more than false teachers teaching falsehood.  That has been around since before the birth of Christ.  The real underlying problem is rather deeper.  It is that too many professing Christians do not know their God well enough to tell the difference between what is clearly in the bible and what is counterfeit.

So, let us learn from the Berean brethren; let us comparing everything we hear with the bible we already have.