I had just briefly written a bit about this book in the last section, and wanted to open up discussion on it if anyone wants to talk about it. The book has caused a HUGE uproar at my church, with the more conservative members very upset about some of the things it brings up, or maybe that isn't right, maybe it's the way it is communicated.

I have to admit, that some of the theology struck me funny. And if a person has not been a Christian for very long, it could cause some problems. Personally, the book led me to the Bible to see what the Bible said about some of these things, and that's always a good thing. I do think that it has the potential to become a gospel in and of itself, kind of like the Purpose Driven Life did for awhile.

I really loved the way some things are presented in the book. I love how it gave me a fresh perspective on the Trinity, and how it dealt with how the main character wrestled with how God dealt with the tragedy in his life. Personally, I have experienced some very tragic things, and The Shack gave me another way to look at them.

Melissa

I can think of only one part that I thought "no, that's not right".  I think it was just the way the author worded it, and not his intent, though.  It was the part about not needing to be a Christian, and that Jesus has no desire to make people Christians.  To me, being a Christian is having a belief in Jesus, so that part came out all wrong for me.

I think you're right, many of the problems that I had, and that others have, could come down to wording and the way the author chose to word something was not necessarily exactly the way he meant it.

I read somewhere else that someone had a problem with all of the lines talking about how God limited Himself in Jesus, or something like that. I took it to mean that as supreme God of all the universe, it was limiting to become a human. That was a big sticking point.

I was just looking at this book on Christian Book Distributors because I'd read a lot about it on other blogs but havent read it myself yet.  I found the reveiws of this book on CBD interesting because, while most of them were raves, there were also quite a few that were concerned about the theology behind this book.   None of them really addressed particulars, so it's good to see some specifics here.

I read The Shack this weekend. I thought it was pretty good although it does have the potential to be one of those books that people see as fact (a la Left Behind) rather than one person's perspective. I enjoyed the different topics it brought up and his view on tragedy. I think the reason some people may struggle with it is because in the introduction it is presented as fact, at least as the real Mack's vision of sorts.

At least four people in my office have read it. I am looking forward to discussing it with them.