William Paul Young
William Paul Young’s best seller The Shack is a unique way of looking at the relationship between man and God. Mackenzie Phillips returns to the shack where three and a half years before his youngest daughter Missy was murdered by the man who had abducted her from their campsite. Unable to get past his depression, he receives a note in the mail signed Papa, his wife’s name for God. The note was an invitation to return to the shack “next weekend if you want to get together.”
The Shack is a new approach to the proper relationship with God, and it appeals to people of all faiths as long as they believe in God. This is what has kept it on the list of best sellers for so long. Although I believe the approach a bit unorthodox in some respects, I enjoyed the book, especially the first part, which I found so touching. As I read, I found myself identifying with the main character in that at times my independence of God has led me to judgment, grief, suffering . . . The lesson here is that in our independence we limit or block our relationship with God, who desires a personal relationship with each of us. And in limiting our relationship, we block his power to work within us because as always, it is our choice. “All evil flows from independence, and independence is your choice,” Papa (God the Father) tells Mack. Later, she continues: “If I take away the consequences of people’s choices, I destroy the possibility of love. Love that is forced is no love at all.”
Although a beautifully crafted novel, it can be read as a “how to book,” how to establish a personal relationship with God.
This book is not at all about religion; and instead of preaching a sermon on the proper approach to a personal relationship with God, Young writes a novel; nor is this about any one religion or sect. God created us all, and he loves us all. He invites us all to come to Him.
In the novel, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—the Trinity—appear to Mackenzie Phillips, the main character, as ordinary people with extraordinary powers. God, for example, appears as a woman with whom Mack can easily relate as Papa.
Reviewed by Lee L. Peoples
