The Shack

[Onesiphorus]

You still want me to compare the bible with the shack and that is not what I am prepared to do ,what you have just asked I have already answered ,the shack is purely a work of fiction and to give God the reverence and praise is not to show Him as this book does ,and again as I have said why do you need to depict GOd other than how He is depicted in scripture .Again you cannot compare the happenings of the Old Testament with Moses and Abraham etc as again you will find out through scripture that God does not deal with man in the same way now as He did then .If it is not meant to be taken as truth why are so many saints calling it inspired , and as RIchard _1 said the whole it is riddled with modernism and new age symbolism based on greek philosophical theories and not on scripture .

[Pilgrim]

Easy there Brethren, let us strive for peace. & hopefully some clarity

Lets start by asking some questions.

1) A. What are the gifts of the Spirit?

B. Could they include such things as writing?
C. Might Writing be considered Preaching & Teaching or Exhortation & Evangelism?
D. Have you ever heard or read anything that you perceived as anointed of God?
E. Does The Lord still speak to His people, through His people?

2) Question: Are such writings as the collective works of C.S. Lewis & Bunyan’s ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ & ‘This Present Darkness’ (I forget who the Author of the last one is) inspired & beneficial to believers?

Answer: Absolutely YES! They are the reflection of the individual Author’s walk, relationship & personal revelation of God. In such wise they can even be said to be anointed of God in as much as the individual Author has dedicated & given their talent over to service of The Lord.

3) Question: Are such works Scripture?

Answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT. And I am speaking here as one who regards ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ as, as close to being Scripture, as it is possible to get without it actually being Scripture.

Why? Because they are NOT God breathed in the same way that Scripture is. They do not have Apostolic Authority & neither do they lay claim to the same authority or infallibility as Scripture. However, & this is important, this does not mean that God cannot or does not use such works to draw the lost, convict of sin, give comfort, encouragement & spiritual truth. (& yes I know that is what Scripture is for & does but nevertheless.) They may be inspired, even anointed & The Lord may use them but they are NOT the THUS SAYETH THE LORD OF HOSTS Word of God.

We attempt here upon these Forums the same thing the Authors of the aforementioned works did with theirs but no-one here, I trust, would attempt to state or believe that what they are contributing is Scripture pure. Neither did the Author’s we have mentioned.

4) So, what then shall we say in regard to the ongoing debate on this thread? Well, I’ve been reading it with great interest & as I was reading the various opinions put forth three things popped into my head.

The first was a book written some twenty or so years ago that everyone was raving about as the greatest thing since the Bible & recommending highly. It was titled; ‘Mr God, this is Anna’. Some of you may be familiar with it. Being an avid reader, I bought a copy & was highly disappointed when the content didn’t match the hype. In fact I was so singularly unimpressed that I didn’t even finish it & couldn’t for the life of me, figure out what all the fuss was about.

The second thing that came to mind was this;
Acts 16: 16And it came to pass in our going on to prayer, a certain maid, having a spirit of Python, did meet us, who brought much employment to her masters by soothsaying,
17she having followed Paul and us, was crying, saying, `These men are servants of the Most High God, who declare to us a way of salvation;'
18and this she was doing for many days, but Paul having been grieved, and having turned, said to the spirit, `I command thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come forth from her;' and it came forth the same hour. Young’s Literal Translation.

You will note that I have underlined one small phrase in my quote. Interestingly you will not find this wording in any other translation/version of the Scripture I have encountered. The NIV, The Amplified & the much vaunted KJV all translate this phrase as the way & all are incorrect I can assure you.

‘So what?’ I hear you ask. Well, this is so what, even that seemingly minor change of one word in the passage changes completely the interpretation of what is happening within the context of the passage. By using the phrase the way we are lead to the possibility of seeing what Paul is doing here & interpreting it as the same thing that Jesus did when He confronted demonic forces who declared the truth concerning Him & commanded them to silence. This consequently leads us to ask the question; How did Paul know that he was dealing with a deceiving spirit? I mean she was telling the truth!

Answer? Well he must have received some kind of leading from the Holy Spirit right?

WRONG, dead wrong. I'm not saying here that Paul was not lead of the Holy Spirit but what is happening here in this passage, is not the same as what Jesus did in that the dynamics are quite different. What Paul heard was a theological statement made by a demon declaring a doctrine of demons. Paul heard a way to salvation rather than THE WAY meaning the only way by which men could be saved. a way is explicit in it’s wording that there is another way or more than one way by which men can be saved rather than the way which Paul was declaring. After awhile it bothered him so much that he stood on his authority under Christ as a believer & silenced the demon by casting it out.

5) That is what I see happening here in Richard’s statement concerning the book ‘The Shack’. And I confess he is doing it diligently & well.

No doubt God can use it to draw people toward Him & it is true that to them that are pure, all things are pure. But lest we forget our mortal enemy is a subtle deceiver of minds & we are also exhorted to stay awake & on our guard lest we be deceived & we have already entered the time when many will forsake the true Gospel for the doctrines of demons. In this The Word is not refering to non-believers but the Church.

The purpose of the enemy is to use this or any other book (Including God's own Word) albeit a novel, to deceive, if it were possible, the elect, the chosen of God. Those that take it seriously will declare it a great novel containing general spiritual truths.

This brings me to the third thing that popped into my head which was also another book written by David Wilkerson of ‘The Cross & The Switchblade’ fame, titled: ‘The Vision’, also written about twenty years ago. I remember very clearly that he warned that in the not too distant future the teachings of Eastern Mysticism would enter & pollute the Church. They didn’t even have the term ‘New Age’ in those days but that is exactly what he was talking about.

6) Finally, a Watchman’s honest call to arms in an attempt to alert the Body, is as serious & responsible a post as any. Like Preachers or Teachers they are judged more harshly than most & it is only the foolhardy that don’t think thrice before deciding they're just crying wolf.

Here I make no judgement upon the Author of ‘The Shack’ since I have not read it & know nothing of the Author. I also confess to finding useful insights even in movies such as ‘The Life of Brian’.

That said, I believe what I have written here is from the Lord but I leave the Body to judge it & hold on to that which seems good. Sorry for the wordy reply but I try to cover all the bases.

God bless you all & keep you in His perfect peace through all trials, ‘til Kingdom come.

Your brother, friend & servant

Pilgrim

[Onesiphorus]

Well said Pilgrim and I Thankyou for the clarity of your post

[laterunner]

Thanks Pilgrim.

I believe ''The Shack'' to be a bubble burster & gets the wiser christians out of the box & gives us thinking time to review things such as our response to Jesus & His word.

[laterunner]

Any one know of any such controversy over the Pilgrims Progress????


===> & follow the Pages on==>
http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magaz...-century.thtml

[Lily]

The Holy Spirit does far more than teaching through the bible alone, that is a very blinkered viewpoint. What is taught needs to be aligned to scripture, but the methodology of the Holy Spirit teaching is not through bible alone, IMO and experience.

Amen. The Holy Spirit can do ANYTHING. He can work ANYWHERE.
This book is fiction and any self respecting, sensible person knows the difference and knows works of fiction aren't there to " replace " the word of God.
Nevertheless, who knows whether the Holy Spirit, knowing some people have trouble getting their heads around such things as the Trinity isn't at work here in helping people to understand a little better ?
By that, I don't mean people read this book and take what the book says as Gospel. What I mean is, I haven't read this book myself but I know people who have and I've discussed it with them and one person told me that the explanation of the Trinity in this book ( AFTER going back to Scripture ) was like a light going on in their head.
Who is to say that isn't the Holy Spirit at work ?

The Holy Spirit is at work anywhere and everywhere. You don't even NEED a Bible to pray and I wonder how many thousands of people over the world had never picked up a Bible in their lives to have the Holy Spirit work in their lives.

Take a look at Nicky Cruz. A child born into a family where satan was worshipped and by the time that child was 6yrs old he had a heart of stone.
His own words,,,,,
My parents filled my life with sorcery and the occult. When I was six years old, I was doomed to the devil.
Was he changed by actually reading Scripture at the beginning? No.
He was changed when the Holy Spirit said to David Wilkinson,,
"Go and fetch Nicky Cruz!"
The Holy Spirit came in the human form of David Wilkinson.
Nicky Cruz was a man who had never owned a Bible in his life, never mind read one.

I've been reading, quite often, works of total fiction and I have lost count of the number of times, if something has been troubling me about a certain something, how just one line in that work of fiction has almost been highlighted, just like it had been put there for me, something related to what had been niggling me at the time, and i've been looking at that one sentence, almost like it's the only sentence on that page, with a rabbit in the headlight stare, looking heavenward and thinking,, " How do you do THAT ? "

I had such an experience after a long hard day contemplating with myself about why bad things happen to good people.
My bedtime reading at that time was Angels and demons. Yes, a rubbish book really but good rubbish nonetheless
Within seconds of me picking up that book, a WHOLE paragraph stood out highlighted just for me which put it all into perspective.
I put the book down, the dog looked at me like I was talking to him ( and giving that look of " uh oh, why am I in the dog house now ) when I said with some volume,,,, " Well, you've done it AGAIN haven't you ! "

I've read all the conversations with God books, another set of books which has recieved much critism.
Now, I don't care if this man REALLY had a conversation with God like he claims. For me it's the end result and reading those helped me to put a few things in perspective.
I don't sit there with that rabbit in the headlight stare again thinking, " Oh this book must be Divinly inspired ". I sit and read something, think about it, then I go check it out in Scripture and BINGO, that light has gone on in my head !

[marcelle19]

A perspective...if this works, you will be able to give this guy your feedback...

The Shack | Fallen and Flawed

March 12th, 2009 | Books, Christian Living, Literature | 21 Comments

Let me be vulnerable for a moment.

It breaks my heart every time I hear professing Christians declare their love for William P. Young’s The Shack.

It breaks my heart because they do not declare that same love for the Bible…

Neither do they declare a jealous regard for the New Testament…

Or even a zealous devotion to a book of the Bible like Isaiah, the Gospel of John or 2 Peter.

Yet, they go on and on over the wild speculations of a rogue Christian and how he’s helped them birth a new relationship with God.

Never mind Young’s main character’s wicked, blasphemous rants against a holy and just god. Never mind Young’s vision of God as an obese black woman. Never mind Young’s smug indifference to theological precision.
Here’s the Problem

The Shack appeals to our native narcissim. We want God on our terms. We want God to accomodate us. To make us feel welcome. We want him to present himself in a way that we can stomach. To justify our emotions like anger, bitterness and resentment.

I can only think that those who don’t read the Bible but nurse a love affair with The Shack do so for one reason: They are afraid the Bible will confront and contradict them.

They are right. It will. As it should.

Echoing Archie’s concern over guidance, read The Shack if you must. But don’t put much stock in it. Put stock into the Word of God. Because in a year, hopefully, The Shack will be forgotten once the next craptastic feel-good book emerges.

On the other hand, the Bible will go on for the next 1,000.
Here’s the Deal

The Bible is a story about our natural and chronic guilt and rejection of a loving and holy God and his willful act to intercept our headlong dive into sin, judgment and destruction we justly deserve.

It’s a story of God giving us his son, Jesus Christ, to live and die for us as a ransom for the monster debt we owe God. Naturally, the Bible is going to sting us.

If it doesn’t, we can only believe it is stupid. Or we are numb, cold or dead.
What Do You Think?

I sometimes wonder whether the threat to Christianity is greater on the inside than it is on the outside. The Pharisees were Jesus’ rivals…not the Sadducees. And 2 Peter and Jude are entire books about false teachers. The Shack falls into that category.

What do you think? Am I curmudgeon? Or do I have a legit beef here? Love to hear what you think.

[canny]

erm,, I am not sure how to word this,, but firstly,, the Bible is not entertainment
The Shack is..........although it needed all those hankies

The Bible is not on the fiction shelf in my library
The Shack is..........

and oh boy, if you want to get sales going, protest to the hilt

I found it disturbing, but I also found it had a revelation at something it made me think about.

I love gene kelly,,,I would rather watch gene kelly dance,, than watch The Passion,,,,,,,,,,,I dont want to spend my days wanting to slit my throat !

[marcelle19]

erm,, I am not sure how to word this,, but firstly,, the Bible is not entertainment
The Shack is..........although it needed all those hankies

The Bible is not on the fiction shelf in my library
The Shack is..........

and oh boy, if you want to get sales going, protest to the hilt

I found it disturbing, but I also found it had a revelation at something it made me think about.

I love gene kelly,,,I would rather watch gene kelly dance,, than watch The Passion,,,,,,,,,,,I dont want to spend my days wanting to slit my throat !

Why would you want to do that, dear?

Bill

[marcelle19]

Here's one that Grace to You said to check out:

Challies Dot Com: Search Results

You have to click on the ones you want to read.

In Him,

Bill