The Shack by Wm. Paul Young

May 28, 2009, South Amboy, NJ

Paperback 2007, 252 pages.

I was made aware of this book because it was proposed to be the subject of a discussion to be held during an upcoming reunion. Greta said it is unconventional, which piqued my interest. The cover says over 3 million copies in print, so it was natural that I saw a copy of it while house-hunting in Florida earlier this month!

Mackenzie Allen Philips (Mack) took his children camping in the Northwest. As he was trying to help two of kids in an overturned canoe, his youngest daughter Missy was kidnapped and probably murdered by a serial offender. Thus began “the great sadness” during which he felt incomplete and guilty. One day he got a note from "Papa" asking him to return to the shack where the kidnapping occurred. He decided to drive up by himself when his family was away. During the trip he met God in the persons of Papa (who was a woman most of the time), Jesus, and Sarayu (Holy Spirit); in addition he had an encounter with Sophia, the wisdom of God. Over the course of two days, he came to a deeper understanding of the nature of God, free will, judgment, and – most importantly – a different and intimate relationship with God. His last and most difficult step was to forgive the killer. After retrieving and burying Missy’s remains, he found himself back in the old shack.

Mack got into an accident on his way back from the shack. To others, however, this occurred on the same day he headed out. In any case, he reconciled with his daughter Kate (who caused the canoe accident and blamed herself for Missy’s kidnapping), managed to find Missy’s remains, and (not sure how I can end this synopsis) life went on, albeit differently.

The subjects of suffering and evil, and how they serve God’s purpose, are issues that get discussed a great deal without satisfactory answers at least as far as I am concerned. By arguing that everything is about God and not about us, the author tries to bring a different perspective from how most people approach these problems. He brings interesting insights in areas such as how we hang on to our independence, how the three persons of God communicate with each other, and how God loves each person uniquely. While most people have not suffered a personal loss as great as Mack’s, the questions of “why” and “how could you have allowed that to happen” must be on a lot of people’s minds, especially after tragic events such as terrorists attacks and natural disasters.

Human beings, being constrained as such, must find it hard (if not impossible) to take God’s perspective on things. In other words, these questions will always be on our minds, even though their heaviness may depend on time, distance, and our overall relationship with God.

While I was quite moved by several passages, and quite appreciate of the author’s insight in many aspects of God, I found the relative light treatment of evil, justice, hell, and other dark subjects unsatisfying. Perhaps that reflects the author’s view of God. It may be all “good” when it comes to what happened to Missy, but there must be 6 year olds that die tragically before they have a chance to know God; what happens then? In that regard the book leaves many questions unanswered.

I would recommend this book to others, but would also warn them they won’t find all the answers in it.