ATLANTA — Despite the charge that William Paul Young is attempting to undermine orthodox Christianity, the author of The Shack was invited by Catalyst organizers to be interviewed during the conference.
The book is No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list for paperback fiction.
The Shack has not been received without mixed reviews. Some reviewers have gone so far as to write that Young is seeking to undermine orthodox Christianity. Young, a seminary-trained son of Canadian missionaries, denies this charge.
Young
In The Shack, an Oregon father named Mackenzie Philips must deal with a crushing loss. His daughter has been abducted and, though her body is never found, the scene of her attack is traced to an old shack. The details of the crime are barely sketched out, but the grinding, debilitating emotions of the father are painted in stark hues. Mack retreats for several years to live like an emotional hermit. He asks questions.
Columnist Jerry Johnston provides a summary: “Then Mack is summoned by God and invited back to the scene of the tragedy. He goes into the woods by himself where a strange darkness enfolds him and leaves him feeling weak and overcome by forces beyond his control. Then, from nowhere, light and warmth fill the grove and his being.
“That's when he meets the Godhead.
“And it is not your father's deity. I won't give away too much, but simply say Jesus appears as a carpenter in a flannel shirt wearing a tool belt and the Holy Ghost is a young woman, an Asian gardener. As for God, wait and see. When he asks God why this offbeat vision feels like a psychotic breakdown, God replies: ‘I am who I am,' but also, ‘I'm not who you think I am.' ”
Speaking to the assembly, Young defended his book saying that for many people the church has failed to speak credibly and compassionately to the deeper questions they are asking. They want to know about evil in our world and they are also asking why the church seems to be determined to protect itself rather than lose itself in ministry to the world.
Young said that some religious systems have created abusive circumstances and have become part of the problem rather than part of God's redemptive activity. He affirmed that the Father-God he portrays in his book depicts “relentless affirmation coming in our direction.”
Although he admits that his views of the Godhead are not typical, he believes that his metaphorical depiction can provide new insights into the nature of Deity. Young professes surprise that his book, intended initially only for his children, has created such a stir.
Young is hopeful that Christians who choose to read The Shack will recognize that it is not intended to be a commentary. Rather, he hopes Christian readers will recognize that God cannot be captured in any written account.