The Shack Vs the Bible

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” David needed light, and he found it in God’s word. We need the light of God’s word because darkness comes in various forms. An example of a very subtle yet devastating form of darkness can be seen in the movie ‘The Shack’. There’s been a lot that has been said, over the past decade, about the book which the movie is based on. And many debates and criticisms have been made about its supposedly various false doctrines. I have only one problem to mention concerning this book which I believe is the mother of it all (No pun intended). Rather interestingly it also seems to be something no one wants to talk much about. It’s about the way God the Father is portrayed in the book/movie- as a woman.

Talking about this problem is like opening a can of worms. One could get accused of being racist or anti-feminist or sexist. And this is where Satan the deceiver is most successful in his super subtle strategy. I’m not interested in the debate, neither am I perturbed by the name calling. All we need to know is just one thing. How does God reveal Himself in the Bible? And that’s about all the light we’ll need to put the futile arguments to rest.

I believe the best place to start looking for light is Matthew 6:9 “Our Father…” or John 11:42 “Father, I know that you hear me” or John 14:6 “No one comes to the Father..” and we could go on and on with references pointing to the way of how God has already set things. God is Father.

‘God is Spirit..’ and as such He could possibly have no gender. Oops, another can of worms if you may. And here’s where I think we ought to put on the humility that David had when he said “I do not get involved with things too great or too difficult for me.” [Psalm 131:1]

We call God Father simply because that’s the way He has revealed Himself to us. And we agree with Him by calling Him “Abba, Father”. Anything other than that is recipe for disaster and confusion. The very weapons of Satan that we ought not to be unaware of.

Unlike William P.Young, the author of the Shack, “God the Father is not the author of confusion..” Do we really need a book that talks about God’s compassionate heart and love in such confusing and ‘contemporary’ terms? Or wouldn’t it be better if we just purposed to stick with the Book to know the much needed authoritative headship of God as Father?

God revealed Himself as Father to us on purpose and God manifested Himself a Man through Jesus our Lord on purpose, and God the Holy Spirit didn’t manifest Himself as a human for reasons that befits God’s better judgement. Let’s not make the mistake of twisting the Scriptures to match our conveniences or to make certain groups happy. Let us accept the truth for what it is. We are called to agree with God. Period. Let’s allow the Bible to be the lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path. And we have it in our language.

Sandon Cyril,

Greater Grace Thailand

san7sniper@yahoo.com