The Shack by Paul Young

I was curious about this book when I learned of its history. It was a self-published book that was sold over the internet. The book became so popular that it was picked up by a legitimate publisher and became a big seller. Many reviews have been written and most of them are positive. I don’t share the same enthusiasm. The literature is average and the theology is questionable. Describing myself as a secular humanist and, at best, a sceptical “believer” it is no wonder I have severe reservations about a book that involves extended conversations among the main character, Mac, and the anthropomorphic representations of God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost. God cooking pancakes for breakfast is just too silly to take seriously much less the explanations that are provided to justify earthly situations as not being the holy trinities fault. The explanation that the human attraction to “power and autonomy” contaminated the godly master plan and the failings on earth resulted from such qualities is deeply unsatisfying. The claim that the “Trinity” was and is well intentioned is not congruent with the explanations of why "bad" things happen. The position that "love" and "forgiveness" are the solution to human misery is moronic in its simplicity.

In addition a theological contention that there are three spiritual characters that monitor the every aspect of 6 billion human souls is so remarkably anti-intellectual that the entire book cannot be taken seriously. The number of book sales that is quoted is incomprehensible to me and seems more like an act of human desperation than an appreciation for the content presented in the manuscript.Reading this book was a waste of my time, which unquestionably says more about me than it does about the book.