Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his "Great Sadness,"Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack"wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?"The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!
Pages:
256 Format:
Paperback EAN/ISBN:
9780964729230 Publisher:
Windblown Media
Thought-Provoking and Real| Posted July 02, 2009
There have been a number of books that have had the world talking. Books like ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’, ‘The Purpose Driven Life and ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ comes to mind. The Bible has already accomplished this for centuries. Another book that comes to mind is ‘The Shack’ by William P. Young. Many an enthusiastic (reading) audience has likened this book to the new generation’s ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ – a statement with which I must agree.
Though not as ‘fantasy’-based as Bunyan’s novel, (and with fantasy, I refer to completely imaginative from start to end) ‘The Shack’ remains spell bounding and gripping. The third person point of view (which tells Mack’s story) creates an atmosphere of sitting in on a conversation where Mack is speaking a foreign language and his friend is translating (with a few random, personal inserts here and there). Interesting, well- (and enthusiastically-) told as well as realistic enough in its inventive imaginativeness (a mouth full, but yes, this is all possible in one book).
The story takes us on a journey with Mark – a man with a painful past and an even more tormenting future – when he receives a note from God in his mailbox to meet him in the shack in which his daughter was murdered. In the weekend that follows, Mack discovers God (or rather, God reveals Himself to Mack), the Trinity and has the opportunity to discuss forgiveness, grace, love and other concepts that affect God’s children with God (the Father), Jesus and the Spirit.
Many people has noted this book to be sacrilegious and blasphemous in some instances, but, remembering that this is only Young’s interpretation of certain spiritual concepts to explain pain to his children and close friends, we, as readers, can draw some deep truths and lessons from the book, even if we only learn to have our beliefs challenged, but still remain standing firmly in the truths of God’s Word.
I do not agree with some of the statements made in ‘The Shack’, but it has taught me to measure all that I read according to God’s Word and create definite lines according to which I believe and to which I can return for reference when my beliefs are challenged. Being able to be flexible and open (but allowing this to cause growth in your spiritual walk and not teach you ungodly concepts) is and aspect of freedom of reading (in comparison to freedom of speech, or in this case, writing).
I enjoyed this book. It may, though, not appeal to the more conservative reader. If you decide to read this book, read it once as a story, then read it again to understand it completely and finally read it a third time in order to study, research and compare its statements to Biblical truths. It is relatively easy reading, continually compelling and heartfelt in its honesty to all the questions asked. All these aspects make this a brilliant book to read.
Very good| Posted May 28, 2009
I would say that this was a very good STORY. I would not look to this book for my theological views, but it is a great story of a guy that is going through the grieving of his daughter who was murdered. I found it interesting the way the author portrayed God as a female figure. I can understand why he did that, because of Mac's passed dealings with his earthly father, but I still think it is a bit strange that he did portray God like this. Also i found it strange the spot that he picked for God and Mac to get together, which was the place his daughter was murdered.
Over all this was a great read if your looking for a good story.
truly amazing| Posted May 27, 2009
All I can say that this book really touched me and caused me to see a lot of things differently. It was moving to go through the book and see the change that happened in Mack. The renewal and reconciliation were two beautiful themes that ran through the book; people will undoubtedly be able to apply those to their own lives too.
One more comment, if you are someone who is very theologically oriented, i would not advise this, seeing that not all aspects of the book are in line with the scripture and other theological ideas and will probably cause you to dismiss the book completely.
Different....| Posted March 16, 2009
First of all, I actually found the Shack to be depressing and boring. I couldn’t wait to finish reading it so I could end my agony! lol
There were things that I enjoyed in the Shack but mostly I found it all a bit odd. I wanted to read this book to see what all the hype was about and I am glad that I did :) I noticed that there were a couple of cuss words in this book and I wouldn’t recommend the Shack to young readers.
I do like allegorical books but I didn’t enjoy this one as much as some others… If you are looking for more books that have allegory in it then I would suggest you read Pilgrim’s Progress, The Kingdom Series, and Hinds’ Feet on High Places.
The Shack| Posted February 04, 2009
I absolutely loved this book! It challenges your theology and the way you view God. I loved the ideas and questions it presented and although I'm not sure that I agree with all of it, I still recommend this book to all Christians. Does anyone else notice that the book id number is 666, a bit stange, huh? Just kidding ;)
Performance vs. Grace| Posted February 02, 2009
The Shack is story. The Author tells you it is a story. The entire book is a combination of stories and life experiences. The author plainly tells you it started out as a story for his kids. “Young” is not trying to teach you anything. He is trying to share with you a story. So there are embellishments to make the story work. Just like any other “fiction” book. I have read some reviews that want to discredit the book as heresy because “God” presents himself as a woman. After all God is a man right? After all the bible does say that “God is spirit, neither male or female”. Yet God saw fit to reveal himself in Jesus as well as a dove. Oh and not to mention a burning bush, a pillar of fire at night and a cloud in the day. But hay it’s heresy to think God would show himself as a woman.
We live in a world today that is pretty much void of grace. Yes we speak about it like it’s a good luck charm. We say we live in it, yet we still perform to try and win God’s Love. How quickly we are to justify ourselves for our hollow and void performance in front of our God. How quick we are to justify that while Jesus died for my sins it really was not enough despite what he said. I have to add my little bit into it to make my acceptance to God complete. How quick we are to tell God how entitled we are to whatever we think we should get. Welcome to the world of “POP Religion”. Welcome to “The Shack”, the very center of our pain.
The Shack very quickly address’s POP Religion and puts it up on center stage. It does it in an amazing way and quickly reveals where you are at with regards to the performance vs. grace equation. And then God shows up. For all that this story say’s, one thing is for certain it takes you on an incredible journey. A journey of grace. How much does God love you? When Mack gets judged by the spirit of God, I had to sit down and repent before a “Most High God”. I preach against the “entitlement” philosophy all the time and yet it still hit me like a Rocky Balboa punch. When you recognize the grace weaved throughout the story you are left questioning not how much God loves you but have you let God love you? Then the story has achieved its goal. God loved us long before we loved him. Are we telling God how to love us or are we on God’s terms letting him love us? Not what can you give us, but how do we receive your gift of grace. You will walk away from this story asking that question. That’s a good question to be asking.
ehhh...| Posted January 06, 2009
I read this book a couple months ago so its not very fresh in my mind, but certain aspects really stuck out to me. Some i enjoyed and found deeply edifying and some i am just not too sure of. When the "Holy Spirit" took Mack out to the garden and spoke of the order within the chaos, i was blown away. i also enjoyed Jesus' and Mack's discussion on the dock as they gazed at the stars. One problem i did have was of the portrayal of "Papa", or God. I felt as if the Father was shown as semi-holy and semi-sovereign. I undsterstand that in the book He was revealing Himself in an unfamiliar way to the main character because of preconcieved ideas and issues with his own earthly father, but this God seemed a little too new age for me.
I would recommend this book to those who strong in their Christian faith. As a witnessing tool, i would recommend getting a book thats a requires a little less room for interpretation.
THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS IN MODERN ENGLISH is one good example.
"The Shack" is amazing!| Posted December 17, 2008
This book by William Paul Young is absolutely AMAZING! Its seriously life changing. It takes you on a journey through one man's own struggle with finding his relationship with Christ again after the brutal murder of his youngest daughter, and it makes you pause and reflect on your own walk with Christ. This book is so worth reading!
Shaking my head??| Posted December 13, 2008
Not sure what to think about a book that gives the holy spirit and God the father a female shape (the latter for most of the parts where it appears). It was like the book was two different books; one, sounding like most family grief stories, the other deep and philosohpical and richly metaphorical. I read this book in one sitting with a couple of short two or three minute breaks. Not one I'd read again, but kind of amazed by the actual truth that is in it...about God loving us all. I personally like Christian life books, like Karen Kingsbury's. I've never read the adult version of Pilgrim's Progress, but from skimming the kid's version I can pretty much say that "The Shack" is far richer and deeper and harder to understand. BTW, little side note...this book is ID number 666 on this site. So a pretty interesting book. I wonder how it'd translate on the screen.
Very Good| Posted September 23, 2008
When I began reading The Shack, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, but as I got deeper into it, I couldn't put it down. It really showed that God can be whoever you need Him to be. I still find myself thinking about it sometime, and I read this book during the summer. I highly recommend this book to anyone!
