A Behind the Scenes Guided Tour of William Young’s The Shack
james@gslc.net • © James L. Wakefield, PhD • page 1
God in The Shack • Chapters 6-9
What do you love about this book?
Why does the God portrayed in The Shack bug some people so much?
Does Young use his imagination where no images are allowed? (Exodus 20:1-4).
Racism? Gender issues?
Unmediated conversation! (This is Tim Challies’ complaint, see the website below).
There are many theophanies (visible manifestations of God to humans) in the Bible. Some of the
most famous are: Genesis 12:7; 18:1-21; 32:22-31; Exodus 3:14; 13:21-22; 24:9-11; 33:11;
33:17-34:9; Isaiah 6:1-7; Job 38:1. In none of these is God seen in God’s fullness, because
this can be lethal (Exodus 33:20). In many cases, the encounter is with the pre-incarnate Son
of God (John 1:18; 6:46; Exodus 3:14 with John 8:58).
Jesus tells parables portraying the Father as a human in Mark 12:1-12; Luke 15:11-32. Does a
mental image of God also violate the commandment against images?
Missy’s Question, “Why is God so mean?” wets our appetite for a conversation about how we
understand God in the midst of our brokenness (31/25-26*).
God’s Nature: God is love (101-102/100-101; I John 4:8 and 16) and God is unlimited, without
bounds, and without needs as the Trinity (98/97, and 201/203; Acts 17:24-25). God wants to
be known (98/97; John 17:3; Hebrews 1:1-3, 8:11-12), but God’s nature is wondrous and
beyond our full knowing (101/99; Romans 11:33-36). What is the nature of π?
The Father is “a large beaming, African American woman” (82/80) named Elousia (86/84,
and see 110/110; “Creator God” and “ground of all being”). Papa is servant:
“housekeeper and cook” (86/84; 236/241; John 5:19 and 13:12-14). She appears as a
woman because of Mack’s own abusive Papa (91/89; Paul is able to describe his own
ministry in very feminine imagery in I Thessalonians 2:6-7). Papa appears near the end of
the book as a male (221/225). God is neither male nor female (93/91) and not like Mack
(97/96; I Samuel 15:19). She is able to use whatever we do for our good (125/124;
Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:28), loves all people (155/156, 163/164; John 3:16), is allknowing (186/189, 206/209; I John 3:20), and able to accomplish all she purposes
through Jesus (192/195; Colossians 1:15-20).
It is troubling to many that Papa bears scars on her arms, and claims “We were there [on
the cross] together (94/95). Young says Papa never left him and that “love always leaves
a significant mark.” One can read this two ways: Is Young suggesting that Papa died on
the cross with Jesus? This doctrine (patripassionism) was thoroughly rejected in the early
church. I think it is highly unlikely Young intends us to understand that the Father died
on the cross in the body of the Son. A more sympathetic reading of Papa’s scars takes
them as signs of his identification with Jesus’ suffering, but not as proof that he died
physically with Jesus on the cross. Elsewhere, Young references II Corinthians 5:19 to
explain this. He might also refer to Colossians 2:9. I still think it is too strong an image.
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A Behind the Scenes Guided Tour of William Young’s The Shack
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Jesus is a Middle Eastern laborer (84/82), is also named Truth (95/94; John 14:6), remains
fully human and grounded by choice (kenosis, 99/98, 112/112; Philippians 2:6-8, 3:21),
models devotion (107/106), has a big nose (111/111), is an ecologist (144/145), is both
God and man (176/177), accepts worship as king of the universe (216/219; Revelation
5:11-14), is the only begotten Son (220/223; John 1:14, 18). Jesus reconciles God to the
world through his death (194/192; II Corinthians 5:18-20). To see Jesus is to see the
Father and the Holy Spirit (110/109, 186/188-89; John 14:9-10. There is no overt biblical
evidence that seeing Jesus is seeing the Spirit). Jesus is the gate into the heavenly city
(177/179; John 10:9).
The Holy Spirit is portrayed as “a small, distinctively Asian woman” (84/82) and as a
gardener (85/83). She is almost translucent (85/83). Her name is Sarayu (wind in
Sanskrit, 110/110), and known as the Father’s wisdom = Sophia (171/172). Theologians
expect that the wisdom of God in the Old Testament is more often associated with the
incarnate Son than with the Holy Spirit. Young’s portrayal of the Holy Spirit as wisdom
is thus odd, but finds some basis in Ephesians 1:17, and perhaps as the one who mediates
the Father’s wisdom in I Corinthians 2:6-12.
God as Trinity: “Which one of you is God? ‘I am,’ said all three in unison” (87/85). Young
portrays three persons in one God (101/100). Any conversation shared with one is shared
with all (106/105). The Trinity limits itself because of Mack’s inability to understand an
unlimited God (106/105). Young’s claim that the Father and Holy Spirit also became fully
human in Jesus is probably going too far, even in view of Colossians 2:9 (99/98, and
192/194). They are portrayed in the story as separately human, and if we literalize this,
Young has moved too close to tri-theism.
Subordination or submission? Young portrays a non-hierarchical Trinity (121-124/120-123) that
submits to one another out of love but not in response to power inequities (145/146). One
might cite John 14:28 to counter claims of a non-hierarchical Trinity. But in John’s Gospel,
this need not be read in terms of hierarchy within the Trinity because the sender is greater
than the one sent (13:16). John’s Gospel places a heavy emphasis on the fact that Jesus was
sent by the Father (3:17, 34; 4:34; 5:23-24, 30, 36-38; 6:29, 38-39, 44, 57; 7:16, 28-29, 33;
8:16, 18, 26, 29, 42; 9:4; 11:42; 12:44-45, 49; 13:20; 14:24; 15:21; 16:5; 17:3, 8, 18, 21, 23,
25; 20:21). The Holy Spirit was sent by the Father (14:26) and by the Son (15:26; 16:7).
Reviews: Please do not spend the $12 on Amazon for Tim Challies’ highly critical review. Here
is the link to his website, and when you can download his review as a .pdf file for free:
www.challies.com/archives/book-reviews/the-shack-by-william-p-young.php
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A Behind the Scenes Guided Tour of William Young’s The Shack
james@gslc.net • © James L. Wakefield, PhD • page 3
Humanity in The Shack • Chapters 9-10
The purpose of life is friendship with God (175/177*). Life is shared with God and in dialogue
with God. Humans are meant to share God’s wisdom and love.
Humans are defined by God’s intent, and God intends us to be God’s image (100/99; Romans
8:29). Jesus shows us what it is to be fully human as he trusts his Father’s love (99100/98-99; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:1-3). Because God is Trinity, we are meant to be
in relationship with one another and with God (101/100; Mark 12:28-31), show God’s
love to the world (190-91/193; I John 4:19). Like Jesus, we are meant to share in God’s
satisfaction (99/97; John 15:9-11). We are meant to experience awe and wonder
(109/109; I Corinthians 2:9; Ephesians 2:6-7).
Humans are created to live in the center of God’s love and purpose (111/110; Ephesians
3:14-19). We are created for love and relationship (124/124; Ephesians 5:1-2). We are
created for perichoresis—to dwell in God and to be indwelt by God (100/99, 112-13/112;
John 14:20, 17:20-21).
Humans are created to explore with science (132/131).
Creation, full of longing and beauty (113/113, 190-91/193; Genesis 1:31), is broken (94/92;
Romans 8:19-22).
Humans are lost and damaged (122/121; Romans 3:23). We have a very small and
incomplete picture of reality. We do not trust God’s goodness and blame God for evil
(126/125). We drag creation into our brokenness (132/131). Our hearts are a mess!
(138/138; Jeremiah 17:9).
We are imperfect parents: God will be the parent we never had (92/90; Galatians 4:4-7).
There is a great need for fathering language, because fathering is more misunderstood
(94/92). Our brokenness keeps us from parenting well (154/154; Ephesians 6:4).
We misunderstand power: “One way to avoid the will to power is to choose to limit
oneself—to serve” (106/106; Philippians 2:5-7). If we reflect God as Trinity, we have no
need of hierarchy (122/121; Mark 10:42-45), and we would not abuse power (123/122;
John 13:12-17; Ephesians 5:21).
We cannot define good and evil apart from our own selfishness (134-136/133-136; James
4:1-3).
We misunderstand gender roles: “Genuine relationships are marked by submission…
Submission is not about authority and it is not about obedience; it is all about
relationships of love and respect” (145-47/146-148; Ephesians 5:33). Filling gender roles
is the opposite of relationship (148/148; Ephesians 5:21-33).
We misunderstand freedom: Mack is free to leave, and this introduces a discussion of
freedom (94/93). Freedom is an incremental process, it happens in relationship with Jesus
(95/94; John 8:31-32). “I don’t want slaves to my will; I want brothers and sisters who
will share life with me” (146/146; Romans 8:29).
We value independence over relationships (123/122). All evil flows from independence
(190/192). Rules limit our independence, and they are easier than relationships (198/200).
The Ten Commandments are a mirror to show us our filth (203/205; Galatians 3:21-25).
In the midst of our desperation, we insist on human rights: “A child is protected because she
is loved, not because she has a right to be protected” (137/136).
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A Behind the Scenes Guided Tour of William Young’s The Shack
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We need to be healed (31/26, 92/91; James 5:16), not punished (120/119). There 144
references to punishment in the OT. There are an additional 26 references to punishment in
the NT. In view of texts like I Thessalonians 4:3-8, we should question whether he had taken
the best approach on this issue. At the same time, we need to remember that punishment is
not God’s first choice, and that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel
33:11).
Things would be easy if there was only one human, but much more complicated because God
is weaving the best tapestry for all of us in relation to one another (176-77/178).
Sin is its own punishment (120/119). God’s purpose is to cure sin (120/119, 92/91, 215/21819). Is this true? It is not the whole story. What more needs to be said?
Any one of us, and certainly all of us are “worth” the death of Jesus (103/102), the price of
redemption (127/126, 224/227).
God respects our choices and freewill. God uses them and brings good even out of our bad
choices (124/124). “True love never forces” (190/192).
By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ real spiritual life can fully indwell us (112-13/112).
Because Jesus is with us, we are not lost (114/113). Jesus came to give us his life (180/181).
God is fully reconciled to the world through the death and resurrection of Jesus (192/195;
II Corinthians 5:18-21; Colossians 1:22).
This life is the anteroom, preparation for the greater reality to come (167/168).
There is continued growth after death (212-13/216).
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A Behind the Scenes Guided Tour of William Young’s The Shack
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Judgment in The Shack • Chapters 11, 15-16
In our pain, we think the worst of God (176/178*).
Mack’s questions about judgment rise from his feeling judged for poisoning his father when
he was 13 (8/2, 71/68, 164/165). Waiting alone in the shack, Mack tells God “I hate you”
and accuses God of being absent again (78/76). Angry with God, he threatens he is done
and that if God wants him, God will have to come and find him (80/77).
As humans, we do not think God is good. Doubting God’s goodness and love, we cannot
trust God (126/126, 156/157). We abandoned our relationship with God (146-47/147,
190/192) and lost our perspective after the Fall (135/135).
Evil is a word we use to describe the absence of Good” (136/135). Consequently, we have a
very difficult time defining good and evil (134/133). We now judge all things
subjectively and selfishly (134/134, 160/160). We have become “expert” judges of
almost every thing (158/159). We have a small and incomplete view of reality that leads
us to judge God and declare him guilty—the ultimate betrayer (126/125, 161/162). As
humans, we believe God betrays even God’s own love (162/162-63). And we may think
Hell is about God’s need to torture someone (163/164). “Holiness had always been a cold
and sterile concept” (107/107).
The Apostle Paul warns us in Romans 1:18-20 that those who refuse to see God’s goodness
will face judgment. Paul balances this warning with confidence in God’s nearness and in
God’s invitation to all people in Acts 17:27-30. Verse 30 calls us to repent and trust
God’s justice.
God is sympathetic with our experience (99/98, 112/112).
Jesus experienced his Abba’s absence (96/94-95; Mark 15:34): Jesus cried out “Why have
you forsaken me?” What we easily forget as humans is that the story didn’t end there
(96/95; Luke 23:46).
God is angry with the mess we have made of our lives. God’s wrath is an expression of
God’s love (119/118).
Hebrews 2:14-18 teach us that Jesus shared our humanity and suffered during his temptations
so that he could help us in our temptations. Hebrews 4:14-16 clarifies that Jesus
sympathizes with our weakness. Hebrews 5:8 teaches that Jesus even learned obedience
from what he suffered.
We need to become sympathetic with God’s experience (156/156, 163/164).
We must give up our right to decide what is good and evil on our own terms (136/135).
When we think carefully, we love our children the way God loves hers (156/156). Our
naughtiness does not cause God to love us less (155/155).
Out of love for our children, we should be willing to take their place in judgment. This is
Papa’s heart, and she also judges us with love (163/164).
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The purpose of God’s judgment (169/170).
Sin is its own punishment (120/119). We can agree with the author that sin is often its own
punishment. Scripture does not support this as an absolute claim, for there are many
passages that speak about God’s judgment as punishment. For believers, God’s
punishment is often corrective, as in Hebrews 12:4-11.
God’s purpose is to cure sin (120/119, 92/91, 215/218-19). There aren’t many passages to
support this claim. One could point to I Peter 2:24 as a passage supporting healing of our
sins. It was an important theme in early Christian writers. Irenaeus saw God’s response to
sin as remedial. Origen saw God’s response as curative.
God is not trying to justify history or our judgments about God. God is redeeming the mess
we have made of things (127/126). Romans 3:26 should give us some pause before
accepting the author’s idea here. God will be seen as just, and God is the justifier of those
who have faith in Jesus.
“For love. He chose the way of the cross where mercy triumphs over justice” (164/165;
James 2:13, Psalm 85:10-13). Do we want justice or love? God forgave us a long time
ago. Jesus was there (189/191). We should want both love and justice!
God’s truth, spoken in judgment, exposes our fears and lies as shadows. It allows us to live
free of them (174/176, 187/189). This freedom grows incrementally in relation with Jesus
(95/94; John 14:6 and 8:31-32).
“Nothing is as it should be, as Papa desires it to be, and as it will be one day” (164/165,
emphasis added). Judgment is not about destruction, but about setting things right”
(169/170). Mack gets this, and chooses to return so that he can make some small
difference (235/239). The truth allows him to make a difference in his other daughter’s
life (236/240, 244/249), and in the lives of the other victims’ relatives (246/251).
This last claim is one of the most important in the book and is supported by some of the best
thinking about the future and reconciliation. (See NT Wright, Evil and the Justice of God,
2006, and Miroslav Volf, Exclusion and Embrace, 1996).
How do we respond to any newly seen failure? What does repentance really mean?
We are invited to grow on together without it (184/186).
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The Church in The Shack • Chapter 12
Is The Shack anti-church?
Jesus loves his bride—the Church (177/179*; Ephesians 5:25-27). He loves the individuals in
the Church. Mack says he hasn’t met the bride of Jesus. It isn’t where he goes on Sunday
(177/179). The author believes the Church is not an institution with buildings and
programs (178/179). The Church is about relationships and sharing life together
(178/179).
Our relationship is not about performance or having to please God (126/126). Our
relationship is about love, joy, and freedom as we respond to God (124/124, 145/145;
Galatians 5:22-23 and Romans 14:17). If one can live in relationship with very few rules
and structures (198/200), then Young cannot be judged to be anti-church.
Is The Shack anti-institutional?
Rights are where survivors go, so they won’t have to work on relationships” (137/136). The
institution is religious machinery that can chew up people (179/180).
Religion, politics and economics are “the man-made trinity of terrors” that ravage the earth.
They are tools of security and control (179/181). They are part of the world system
(181/183).
People who know Jesus are free to live and love without any agenda (181/183). Jesus came
to give us relationships, not religion (198/200).
Jesus did not come to make Christians, but children of his Papa and brothers and sisters who
will share life with him (182/183-84, and 146/146).
Yes. The author finds no home in the institutional church (10/4, 248/253).
Is The Shack anti-ritual?
Papa teases Mack for failing to bow his head and close his eyes in his prayer of thanksgiving
(120/119).
Mack admires the simple time of devotion as the expression of love between Papa and Jesus
(107/106). When Mack expects the same thing the next evening, he is reminded “nothing
is ritual” (207/210). These words are echoed when Papa doesn’t eat breakfast the next
morning (220/223). It is worth noting Mack has communion with the Trinity, without any
ritual (236/241).
Yes, Young seems to genuinely mistrust ritual, and so liturgy is probably of questionable
value to him.
Is The Shack anti-Sunday school?
I don’t think Papa’s saying “This isn’t Sunday School” is necessarily a put-down of Sunday
school (98/97).
Is The Shack anti-seminary?
There is nothing anti-seminary in the first mention (65/63). In the second mention, Papa
suggests Mack remember his seminary classes, and so there must have been something
relevant to remember. Mack judges his training unhelpful in the third mention (91/89). In
a much later mention of seminary, Mack judges that seminary gave him the right
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answers, but did little for his relationship with God (198/200). This has a harsh sound,
because Sarayu has just told Mack that “religion is all about having the right answers.”
No. As both a seminary graduate and professor, I don’t hear any of this as malicious
criticism. Young is right that seminary gives us lots of answers and doesn’t necessarily
help us to know God. On the other hand, seminary can also give us the right questions
and encourages us to spend a lifetime seeking intimacy with God.
William Young is not alone in his call for the church to be greatly different from what it has
become. David Kinnaman, in unChristian: What a New Generation Thinks about
Christianity and Why it Matters (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007), reports 87% of nonChristians believe the church is judgmental, and 85% think the church is hypocritical.
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Mercy in The Shack • Chapters 13-14, 17-end
We begin thinking about Mack living with the great sadness, and an exhausted anger: “I hate
you… You wouldn’t even allow us to find her and bury her” (78/76*, but see 246/251). God
sends Mack a note (65/63), and invites him into a conversation that is meant to heal him (92/91,
120/119) and those in his life (236/240). A critical condition of this conversation is God’s selflimitation (91/89, 93/91, 100/99), so that Mack can actually have a conversation without being
crushed. Mack is the poster child of God’s mercy in The Shack.
God’s purpose in the offer of mercy is to bring justice and healing to all creation.
Judgment is about setting things right (169/170; Isaiah 9:7, 16:5, 26:9, 51:5; John 16:8). This
is illustrated as God heals the terrible relationship between Mack and his father (215/21819). We should ask how broad God’s vision for reconciliation is. God is reconciled by the
death of Jesus to all humanity (192/195; II Corinthians 5:18-21), and we are worth it
(103/102). God’s forgiveness is in the past (189/191). In the cross, mercy triumphs over
justice because God acts from God’s love (162-64/162-65; James 2:13).
Papa: “We are not justifying history, we’re redeeming it” (127/126; Titus 2:14).
God’s practice of reconciliation expresses God’s mercy.
Because God sees the end from the beginning, we never disappoint God (206/209).
God uses all we do for our good (125/124, 185/188, 222/225; Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:28).
Jesus on the cross (96/94) and Missy in her death (173/174) were never alone. As we seek
forgiveness, and as we seek to forgive, we are never alone (195/197-98; Matthew 28:20).
Mack needs God’s mercy at many levels in his life. He needs healing for the on-going effects
of his father’s abuse, his great sadness following Missy’s murder, his anger at and
judgment of God (161/162, 184/186), and his hatred and anger at Missy’s murderer
(224/227).
Knowing God involves us in knowing forgiveness (221/225; Psalm 86:5; Ephesians 1:7).
God has forgiven us (189/191). God wants us to forgive because God desires that we
have wholeness and healthy relationships. Unforgiveness diminishes our health as it eats
us alive and destroys our ability to love (225/ 228-29).
The goal of forgiveness is reconciliation and trust within relationships. Forgiveness is not
about forgetting past wrongs (224/228). Forgiveness requires truth-telling and changed
behavior (225-26/229; I John 1:9-2:2).
Forgiving means we release the perpetrator to God and allow God to forgive him/her
(224/227). We may still have moments of anger, but we remove our hands off his/her
neck (227/231). It includes speaking words of forgiveness (227/230).
Forgiveness does not establish a relationship (225/228). It is on-going process (227/231).
Forgiveness will bring us to pray for the perpetrator’s wholeness (227/231, 248/253;
Matthew 6:9-13).
Mack is the perpetrator who, claiming special rights as a victim, blames God. God forgives
him, speaks words of forgiveness to him, tells him the truth, calls and empowers him to
change, and finally brings him into right relationships. God transforms him so that he
becomes a forgiver, someone who lives out God’s passion for reconciliation in the world.
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Forgiveness as a Process
Life is messy! Like Mackenzie, we are all victims and we are all perpetrators. This makes
forgiveness one of the most important aspects of living in community together. We need great
patience and understanding, because some personality types are more grudge-bearing than
others.* Grudge-bearers sometimes feel guilty that they cannot just “forgive and forget.” Nongrudge-bearers often have little tolerance for those who carry past hurts longer than they do.
My own struggle to forgive an abusive father has taught me much since my conversion in 1973. I
have paid attention to the ways I have been led to pray as I have struggled to forgive him. The
following processes are not meant to be taken in rigid step-like fashion. As humans, we are often
“two steps forward, three steps back.” The first and last steps are in logical sequence as the
beginning and the end of the process. Some of the middle steps will be skipped and many will be
repeated. If there is an on-going relationship with the perpetrator, or if the abuse continues, the
process is greatly complicated and there is often little final resolution.
I have tried to face my duty to forgive in the same way I want to be forgiven (Matthew 6:12, 1415). Here are brief notes on how I pray to forgive those who have injured me.
1. Pray for God’s justice and refuse all rights to vengeance. Justice includes truth-telling —
the clear admission of sinful behavior. The certain knowledge that the truth will be
revealed allows us to trust God’s justice in the face of uncertain human legal processes.
2. Pray for the truth to be made known to all who judge and misunderstand you. Ask for
God’s help and stop all forms of verbal retaliation.
3. Pray for God’s healing mercy to love yourself in all your brokenness. You are being
healed!
4. As you heal, ask for the desire and courage to forgive the person who has harmed you
“from the heart” (Matthew 18:35). This will lead you to more prayers for mercy!
5. Ask God to give you the compassion to begin to understand the offender as a broken
person, with his or her own history of hurt and need.
6. Begin to pray for all of God’s blessing—including repentance—for the offender. This
will lead you to more prayers for compassion.
7. Begin to pray for the truth of all things to be made known. This will lead you to even
more prayers for mercy and compassion.
8. Pray for the re-establishment of respectful community. Please remember this may not be
humanly desirable in this life, especially if the perpetrator is predatory. Like Mackenzie,
we may not experience restored community apart from the presence of Jesus in our future
resurrected life.
* John M. Oldham and Lois B. Morris identify some personality types as grudge-bearing, and some as nongrudgebearing in The New Personality Self-Portrait: Why You Think, Work, Love and Act the Way You Do (Bantam, 1995).
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