By Elizabeth Prata
Reviewing The Shack book was the first big discernment essay I wrote. The Shack was hugely popular, you might not know that since it’s been 19 years since it was published. But it swept the churches in tsunami waves. Opposing it and speaking negatively about it was a risk.
One thing that stands out to me after having re-read my review from 18 years ago is that I’m just as opposed to false doctrine as ever. I am also just as sad over how satan persistently deceives many, even the faithful. A sequel to The Shack has been commissioned and is in the works right now. More on that tomorrow, along with insights about Christian publishing.
Is “The Shack” book still a thing? Yes, most certainly. Many people are surprised at the longevity of certain doctrines, people, or books that contain theological lies and influence the Bidy over a long period.
I often wonder why God allows false teachers to draw away the unwary, why he lets an Oprah or a Bill Johnson continue speaking lies in the devil’s name- and for so long, too!” Perhaps this verse gives us a clue,
1 Corinthians 11:19, For there also have to be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.
I think the verse above gives us one answer: it is because He tests us. Who will spit out the snake venom and who will allow the snake venom to course around the body? 2 Timothy 4:3 says false teachers are heaped up because of what the people want to hear. By raising up those who oppose Him, God tests our loyalty and refines the church. False teachers are also a kind of ‘spot the difference’ for the purpose of maturing us in discernment. They are a training ground, according to Hebrews 5:14.
In this case, yes, the 2008 book “The Shack” by William Paul Young, made into a movie in 2017, continues to sell well as a staple, long-term bestseller with over 25 million copies sold. It remains a top seller in Christian Fiction, ranking within the top 5 on Amazon as of this writing. In fact, Young has been commissioned to write a sequel, due out in later 2026!
When it was published, it became a runaway bestselling “Christian” book by William P. Young. I discovered it because it was discussed, reviewed and endorsed on Ken Davis’s blog (Davis of radio ministry Lighten Up!). Davis puts The Shack up there with CS Lewis’s work, and writes that if you read it, “It will change your life.”
It may just do that. Change it for the worse.
It was sold through LifeWay (albeit with a very weak warning). It was even touted at the Christian Booksellers Association as the next great thing, but this book is dangerous heresy. It is doing its part to help water down biblical theology, impose wrong thinking, and ushering in Apostasy.
Back in the day, curious as to the hype, I bought The Shack. Its first 80 pages are a literate person’s thrill, well-written, sensitive, and extremely readable. However, the moment the main character opened the door to The Shack to where he has been invited by “God,” the trouble began. I continued to read for a while, but was increasingly uncomfortable with the un-biblical teachings in the book and eventually threw the book n the trash after the last straw at around page 130. A bare list of but a few heretical statements and principles in this book:
- That God is represented as a woman
- That a man can see God’s face and live
- That the Holy Spirit is represented as a woman
- That, when asked if Jesus is the only way to heaven, a reply “Jesus is the best way”
- That when asked about sin, God replies, “I don’t punish sin, sin itself is punishment enough”
- Pantheism: ‘God is in all things’
- That the Holy Spirit also bears the crucifixion scars in ‘her’ wrists. Yet only Jesus incarnated and bears those scars.
- The author ‘received’ it in “conversations with God”. Young stated that the conversations in The Shack were not fictional but were based on real spiritual dialogues he had with God over many years.
- And many more!
A concern is also in the sly ways the book chips away at solid biblical principles with craftily written statements such as, “the dusty old King James Bible” or church attendance is “religious conditioning” or that the term “Christian” is outdated, as uttered by the book’s “Jesus”, “Who said anything about being a Christian? I am not a Christian” that people may not even be consciously aware of having read but are influenced by them anyway.
The book has many examples both overt and covert of biblical un-theology, and I don’t care that it is represented as fiction. It was touted as a Christian book, is sold at Christian outlets (Lifeway and CBA among others) but it holds UNchristian teachings, fiction or not. And it is affecting a great many of millions. The author was even interviewed on BBC America.
My concern is the terrible sweep this book is making over the world, more than even a Course in Miracles. At least with a Course in Miracles, Christians railed against it, readily identifying it as New Age cultism and occultism. However The Shack has gained the acceptance of previously solid (or perceived as solidly) Christian outlets such as LifeWay and the CBA.
This book is a Satanic deception that is now infiltrating even among our own!
Here is a recap about the reception of the book’s author from a Christian bookseller who attended the CBA:
“William Paul Young, author of the runaway bestseller, The Shack, attended and spoke to convention attendees at a breakfast on Wednesday morning. You might be aware of Young and his book: the novel, which details a man’s search for emotional healing after the brutal murder of his daughter, has generated controversy due to its odd depiction of the Trinity (for example, “God” is a large black woman; Oprah Winfrey and Queen Latifah are rumored to be in the lead for the inevitable film role).”
“Young didn’t reveal much about his theology during a discussion format. Instead, he talked about his own narrative, something vastly popular today. No longer do religious speakers present theology and doctrine to audiences. That’s considered hopelessly outdated.”
“Instead, one’s own life journey is all the rage. And Young’s poignant story of suffering sexual abuse as a child moved the audience to collective tears. Nothing else mattered, not the questionable elements in the book or Young’s ties to liberal thinkers. The real bottom line is the bottom line. Christian stores are struggling against the giant retailers, who can offer deep discounts for books. Therefore, whatever nominally Christian book which sells big is treated like royalty.”
‘Odd depiction of the Trinity’ ? Heresy, you mean. Note the focus on emotionalism, after the audience was in tears, “nothing else mattered” not even the elements doctrine.
Here is a link to a solidly theological review by Christian reviewer Tim Challies. Challies’ review is gaining acceptance as the go-to review for many online pastors who recognize The Shack as a deception and simply link to it. Challies made his review into a .pdf, it’s 17 pages and downloadable. I have a copy and it is worth reading in its entirety. It is is on Tim’s web page here.
I worry for unsaved people who read this book and believe that Jesus is only the best way to heaven and that there are others. There aren’t. I worry for our saved friends who may taste this book only to open the door to a satanic deception and deceiving non-Christians AND Christians. It is obvious that radio pastors, the CBA and Lifeway cannot be trusted as appropriate gatekeepers.
We must hold the gates of the Truth of the Bible firmly shut against creeping deceptions, and help each other remain firmly aware, forewarned, and on guard.
Further Recources:
Did you know that The Shack was written from real ‘conversations with God” that Young claimed to have?
Insight for Living on Young’s alleged conversations with God: A Review of The Shack, more details
Source for Young’s channeling is defunct inside Insight for Living’s essay but here it is archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20090317053729/http://www.windrumors.com/29/the-shack-update-background-2
And here as well where Young described “a voice” Young attributes as the Holy Spirit, giving him a waterfall river of creativity. If this is so, what he wrote is scripture, which of course it is not. https://www.npr.org/2012/12/01/166026305/cross-roads-a-writing-career-built-on-faith
the-end-time.org 