Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Why ‘The Shack’ Is So Deceptive


The Shack

Stephen Altrogge @ http://www.theblazingcenter.com gives an overview of The Shack:

If you haven’t yet heard about the book The Shack, you will. Written by a man named William Young, the book is making all sorts of waves, both in Christian and non-Christian circles. For the last several months it’s been hanging around the best seller charts, and it has people talking about how it has transformed their relationship with God. This weekend I decided to grab a copy of The Shack and see what all the hype was about. After reading the book I came away with two conclusions. I believe that William Young was a well intentioned guy who was trying to help people understand God better, and I don’t doubt that some people have been affected by the book. However, the book is full of blatant heresy and really does misrepresent the God of the Bible.

In the review he covers:

Intimacy vs. Holiness

I don’t need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It’s not my purpose to punish it; it’s my joy to cure it.

Rules vs. Relationship

The Bible doesn’t teach you to follow rules. It is a picture of Jesus.

Compare this with: 1 John 5:2-3 says:

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

From the summary:

The Bible never drives a wedge between obedience to Jesus and a relationship with Jesus. Psalm 119 is a beautiful testimony to the freedom that comes from obeying the laws of God. Yet the theme of freedom versus rules is repeated over and over again in The Shack.

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For an indept review see: Tim Challies.

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