The Heresy and Blasphemy of the book and movie, "The Shack"
The book, The Shack is a novel by Canadian author William P. Young that was published in 2007. It is reputed to have sold 20,000,000 copies to date.
The book became so popular that it was made into a film.
Wikipedia: The novel is set in the American Northwest. The main character is Mackenzie Allen Phillips, a father of five called "Mack" by his family and friends. Four years prior to the main events of the story, Mack takes three of his children on a camping trip to Wallowa Lake near Joseph, Oregon, stopping at Multnomah Falls on the way. Two of his children are playing in a canoe when it flips and almost drowns Mack's son. Mack is able to save his son by rushing to the water and freeing him from the canoe's webbing, but unintentionally leaves his youngest daughter Missy alone at their campsite. After Mack returns, he sees that Missy is missing. The police are called, and the family discovers that Missy has been abducted and murdered by a serial killer known as the "Little Ladykiller". The police find an abandoned shack in the woods where Missy was taken. Her bloodied clothing is found, but her body is not located. Mack's life sinks into what he calls "The Great Sadness".
As the novel begins, Mack receives a note in his mailbox from "Papa", saying that he would like to meet with Mack that coming weekend at the shack. Mack is puzzled by the note—he has had no relationship with his abusive father since he left home at age 13. He suspects that the note may be from God whom his wife Nan refers to as "Papa".
Mack's family leaves to visit relatives and he goes alone to the shack, unsure of what he will see there. He arrives and initially finds nothing, but as he is leaving, the shack and its surroundings are supernaturally transformed into a lush and
inviting scene. He enters the shack and encounters manifestations of the three persons of the Trinity. God the Father takes the form of an African American woman who calls herself Elousia and Papa; Jesus is a Middle Eastern carpenter; and the Holy Spirit physically manifests as an Asian woman named Sarayu.
The bulk of the book narrates Mack's conversations with Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu as he comes to terms with Missy's death and his relationship with the three of them. Mack also has various experiences with each of them. Mack walks across a lake with Jesus, sees an image of his (Earthly) father in Heaven with Sarayu, and has a conversation with Sophia, the personification of God's wisdom. At the end of his visit, Mack goes on a hike with Papa, now appearing as an older Native American male, who shows him where Missy's body was left in a cave.
After spending the weekend at the shack, Mack leaves and is so preoccupied with his thoughts that he is nearly killed in an automobile accident. After his recovery, he realizes that he did not in fact spend the weekend at the shack, but that his accident occurred on the same day that he arrived at the shack. He also leads the police to the cave that Papa revealed, and they find Missy's body still lying there. With the help of forensic evidence discovered at the scene, the Little Ladykiller is arrested and put on trial.
As Bible believing Christians, how should we receive this book?
Anyone that reads the scriptures and understands the teachings of the Bible should recognize the heretical nature of this book.
There are major points where this novel teaches things of an heretical nature.
The first is the nature of the Godhead. The Trinity.
In this book, God the Father is portrayed as a black woman named Papa and later as an elderly native American man. The Holy Spirit is portrayed as an Asian woman and The Son, Jesus Christ is portrayed as a middle Eastern type young man.
This is a perversion of scripture and cannot be seen as revealing truth to the reader.
God the Father: (Represented as a Black Female and native American male)
When we examine Scripture, two things become clear. First, God is a Spirit and does not possess human limitations.
Second, all the evidence contained in Scripture agrees that God revealed Himself to mankind in a male form. To begin, God’s true nature needs to be understood.
God is a Person, obviously, because God exhibits all the characteristics of personhood: God has a mind, a will, an intellect, and emotions. God communicates and He has relationships, and God’s personal actions are evidenced throughout Scripture.
Some of the difficulty comes in examining the fact that humanity is created in God’s image.
Genesis 1:26-27 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
He blessed them and named them Adam." The Hebrew term "adam" means "man" - the context showing whether it means "man" (as opposed to woman) or "mankind"
The woman or feminine is taken out of man.
Gen 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Scripture contains approximately 170 references to God as the “Father.” By necessity, one cannot be a father unless one is male. If God had chosen to be revealed to man in a female form, then the word “mother” would have occurred in these places, not “father.”
In the Old and New Testaments, masculine pronouns are used over and over again in reference to God.
Jesus Christ referred to God as the Father several times and in other cases used masculine pronouns in reference to God.
In the Gospels alone, Christ uses the term “Father” in direct reference to God nearly 160 times. Of particular interest is Christ’s statement in John 10:30: “I and the Father are one.”
The New Testament Epistles (from Acts to Revelation) also contain nearly 900 verses where the word theos—a masculine noun in the Greek.
While God is not a man, He chose a masculine form in order to reveal Himself to humanity.
Specific names for God (e.g., Yahweh, Elohim, Adonai, Kurios, Theos, etc.) are all in the masculine gender. God is never given a feminine name, or referred to using feminine pronouns.
God is a Spirit and we worship Him in spirit and truth.
John 4:24 God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”
Exodus 20:4 “You shall not make yourself an idol in the form of anything above the earth, on the earth or beneath the waters.”
To represent God the Father as a black woman is heretical and Blasphemous.
2. The Holy Spirit: (Represented as an Asian Woman)
In the Bible the Holy Spirit is referred to in the masculine not feminine.
In this book and film the Holy Spirit is depicted as an Asian female.
A common mistake made with regard to the Holy Spirit is referring to the Spirit as "it," something most translations of the Bible are careful to avoid.
The Holy Spirit is a person. He has the attributes of personhood, performs the actions of persons, and has personal relationships.
He has insight ,1 Corinthians 2:10-11 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
He knows things, which requires an intellect Romans 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
He has a will, 1 Corinthians 12:11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
He convicts of sin, John 16:8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
He performs miracles Acts 8:39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
He guides , John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
He intercedes between persons Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Many more scriptures reveal His attributes.
He is to be obeyed (Acts 10:19-20).
He can be lied to (Acts 5:3),
Resisted (Acts 7:51),
Grieved (Ephesians 4:30),
Blasphemed (Matthew 12:31),
Even insulted (Hebrews 10:29).
He relates to the apostles (Acts 15:28) and to each member of the Trinity (John 16:14; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
The personhood of the Holy Spirit is presented without question in the Bible, but what about gender?
So, while the Holy Spirit is neither male nor female in His essence, He is properly referred to in the masculine by virtue of His relation to creation and biblical revelation. There is absolutely no biblical basis for viewing the Holy Spirit as the “female” member of the Trinity.
To depict the Holy Spirit as feminine is, Heresy and Blasphemy.
3. Jesus the Son: Represented first as a Middle Eastern carpenter.
Fact: Jesus was an Israeli male Jew.
Jesus was God manifest in the flesh, "Emmanuel" God with us.
Jesus was born male, born of a woman. He was born a Jew.
It should concern us when someone tries to distort or misrepresent the Bible view of the Trinity, the Godhead.
Christians believe that there is one God, three persons, The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God and God or the Holy Spirit are never referred to in scripture in the feminine.
4. The Divinity of Christ.
The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. The Bible reveals that God the Father manifested Himself in the flesh. God took on human form and lived as a man amongst men. This man was Jesus of Nazareth.
In this book, the main character Mack asks the question of the Jesus person, if he is fully God.
The Jesus character answers “yes”. Then Mack asks "and you are fully man, right"?
The Jesus character thinks for a moment and then replies, "I am the best way that humans can relate to Papa".
This casts doubt on the Divinity and Humanity of Jesus.
This has been a problem in the Christian church for a long time.
There are those that deny the Deity of Christ (that Jesus is in fact God) and there are those that cast doubt on whether Jesus is fully God and fully man.
This part of the book leaves this question open to misinterpretation.
To deny Christ's Deity or to deny that Jesus was fully man is heretical.
Over the centuries, believers have sometimes struggled to understand the nature of God and the great mystery of Jesus.
The Bible describes Jesus as having the nature and power of God, and the Gospel of John tells us that He existed before the universe began (He was, in fact, the creator of the universe). ( Bara—Son of God.)
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God and without Him was not anything made that was made.
At the same time, the Bible teaches Jesus was fully human and died on the cross. He was tempted and tried just like us.
Efforts to reconcile the Divine and human nature of Jesus have resulted in a number of classic and historic misinterpretations:
Adoptionism (2nd Century) This heresy denies the pre-existence of Christ and therefore denies His Deity. It taught Jesus was simply a man who was tested by God and after passing the test was given supernatural powers and adopted as a son (this occurred at His baptism). Jesus was then rewarded for all He did (and for His perfect character) with His own resurrection and adoption into the Godhead.
Docetism (2nd Century) This heresy was coined from the Greek word, “dokesis” which means “to seem”. It taught Jesus only appeared to have a body and was not truly incarnate. Docetists viewed matter as inherently evil, and therefore rejected the idea God could actually appear in bodily form. By denying Jesus truly had a body, they also denied He suffered on the cross and rose from the dead.
Apollinarianism (4th Century) This heresy denied the true and complete humanity of Jesus, because it taught He did not have a human mind, but instead had a mind that was completely Divine. The heresy lessened the human nature of Jesus in order to reconcile the manner in which Jesus could be both God and man at the same time.
Arianism (4th Century) This heresy taught Jesus was a “creature” who was “begotten” of the Father. Only God the Father is “un-begotten”. In this view, only the Father is truly God; He was too pure and perfect to appear here on earth, so He created the Son as His first creation.
The Son then created the universe. God then adopted Jesus as a son (because, after all Jesus and God are not supposed to have the same nature in this view). Jesus was worshipped only because of His preeminence as the first creation.
Nestorianism (5th Century) This heresy taught Mary only gave birth to Jesus’ human nature. The founder of the heresy, Nestorius, did not even want Mary to be called “Mother of God” but instead wanted her to be called “Mother of Christ”. In essence, the heresy maintained Jesus was really two separate persons, and only the human Jesus was in Mary’s womb. If that was true, then Jesus was not God incarnate while in the womb.
Eutychianism [Monophysitism] (5th Century) This heresy taught Jesus’ humanity was absorbed by His divinity. The heresy is Monophysite in nature, derived from the Greek words “mono” (“one”) and “physis” (“nature”). In essence, the heresy claimed Jesus had only one nature (something new and different than the Divine or human nature that God and humans have, respectively). Instead, this heresy taught a third unique nature was possessed by Jesus; a blend or mixture of the human and the Divine.
Monothelitism (7th Century) This heresy emerged in response to the Monophysite heresy (see above), but it also taught something denied by the Scripture. The name is derived from a Greek root that means “one will”. Monothelitism taught Jesus had two natures but only one will. Instead of having two cooperative wills (one Divine and one
human), Jesus had one Divine-human “energia”.
These heresies continue today in the form of Unitarianism.
5. The Death of Christ on the Cross.
Jesus was the one that went to the cross to atone for sin. Without Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins, no one would have eternal life. Jesus Himself said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). In this statement, Jesus declares the reason for His birth, death, and resurrection—to provide the way to heaven for sinful mankind, who could never get there on their own.
“Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins”
It was the man Jesus of Nazareth that died on the cross.
To suggest that God the Father died on the cross is heretical, yet in this book or the film of the book, Papa (God) shows the scars of the nails in her wrist, presumably showing that she did not abandon Jesus on the cross.
It was Jesus Himself who bore the marks in His hands and feet. It was Him alone who bore the marks in His body.
(Isaiah 53:3-5)Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
For Christ died for sins once and for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually (1 Peter 3:18).
Quote from RC Sproul
We believe that Jesus Christ was God incarnate. We also believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross. If we say that God died on the cross, and if by that we mean that the divine nature perished, we have stepped over the edge into
serious heresy. In fact, two such heresies related to this problem arose in the early centuries of the church: Theopassianism and Patripassianism. The first of these, Theopassianism, teaches that God Himself suffered death on the cross. Patripassianism indicates that the Father suffered vicariously through the suffering of His Son. Both of these heresies were roundly rejected by the church for the very reason that they categorically deny the very character and nature of God, including His immutability. There is no change in the substantive nature or character of God at any time.
We should shrink in horror from the idea that God actually died on the cross. The atonement was made by the human nature of Christ.
End of Quote
Also, in the movie the character representing the Holy Spirit shows the same scars. This is the heresy, Theopassianism, suggesting that all three persons of the Trinity suffered death on the cross and bear the marks of that crucifixion.
The way the book/movie portrays Sin.
Mack asks Papa (the black woman) “what about your wrath”. The reply is something like “Wrath?, you lost me there”. She suggests that she does not need to punish sin, as sin is its own punishment.
It seems that throughout this movie sin is minimized, that sin is not something that needs punishment. Sin is just something that we all do as a result of being human. This denies the teaching of scripture, suggesting that there is no
judgment on sin.
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned--
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Galatians 6:7-8 - Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap
If there are no consequences of sin, why did Jesus need to die? God is a holy God and cannot look on sin. There must be a payment for sin.
We need to be cleansed from our sin and be saved.
The alternative is Judgment of God.
Romans 14:12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Revelation 20:11-15 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
John 8:24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.”
Colossians 3:5,6 Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
6 Because of these,the wrath of God is coming on the children of disobedience
The message of this book and film is that God will not punish anyone for their sin. This is in complete contradiction to scripture.
The fact that the book and film teaches Universalism.
The Shack teaches Universalism.
Paul Young, the author of this book says that he is a “hopeful universalist.” He believes that our loving God sent His Son to die for every single sinner without exception. One day God will effectually reconcile every sinner to Himself. Paul uses the term “hopeful” universalism because he understands that the Scriptures speak of judgment, but Paul is “hopeful” that even in judgment, the love of God will eventually bring the sinner being judged to love for Jesus Christ. Paul Young is “hopeful” that the fire of God’s love will eventually and effectually persuade every sinner of God’s love in Christ.
That no one will be punished for their sin, all men will eventually be forgiven.
Universalism is the belief that all people will eventually be saved. There will be no Wrath, no Judgment and no one will go to hell.
If this is the case, why did Jesus have to die at all?
All this is in contrast to the teaching of scripture.
Matthew 13:41-42, 49-50 “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Man is a sinner, he is dead in trespasses and sins and he is in need of salvation. There will be punishment for sin. The Wrath of God will be poured out on sinners. Those that do not turn to Jesus Christ are destined for Eternal death.
On the whole, this book and movie is Heretical and Blasphemous.
It is part of what is happening in the world wide church today. The watering down of scripture, a denial of the fundamental truths of scripture.
The perversions through new translations of the scriptures, which omit, change and relegate verses to a footnote.
There are those that promote paraphrased versions of the Bible which are the private interpretations of God’s word.
The Shack projects a false view of God, of Christ and of the Holy Spirit.
It teaches another Gospel that is not the same Gospel taught by Jesus Himself or the Apostles.
It is a Gospel that is inclusive of all other religious teaching that one can get to God by many other ways.
This is contrary to the words of Jesus.
John 14:6 “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one comes to the Father but by Me”.
1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
The Shack teaches there is no punishment for sin, there will be no wrath of God and that in the end all will go to Heaven.
It is the responsibility of every Elder, Pastor and Teacher to make sure that this kind of literature is exposed for what it is, dangerous, heretical and
blasphemous and deserves to be nowhere else but the garbage bin.
——————————————————-
What William P Young, Author of the novel “The Shack”
What he says in his non fiction book, “Lies we believe about God”.
He claims Universalism – Does not believe that sin separates us from God – there is no punishment for sin. No wrath of God.
Now, with the publication of his first non-fiction work, Lies We Believe About God, Young gives an expression of his beliefs.
The book is devoted to exposing the “lies” we believe about God, and he gives his own views of the above subjects.
Unfortunately, the theology preached in this book is far from the orthodox Christian views.
Uorthodoxy” and “heresy” arose in church history is because Christians have maintained there are right and wrong ways to think about God, and that pointing out the difference matters. When a book departs from historic,
mainstream Christianity, it’s important to make the differences clear. It is very important that the reader understands the difference between what is heresy and what the scriptures teach.
There are many troublesome aspects of the book’s teaching .
Has the Gospel Saved Everyone? (Universalism)
No one reading and embracing Lies We Believe About God will feel a need to repent of his or her sins and trust in Christ for salvation. That is because Young denies we need to do so:
He says we are included in Gods salvation whether we like it or not.
Young says: The Good News is not that Jesus has opened up the possibility of salvation and you have been invited to receive Jesus into your life.
He says: The Gospel is that Jesus has already included you into his life, into his relationship with God the Father, and into his anointing in the Holy Spirit. The Good News is that Jesus did this without your vote, and whether you believe it or not won’t make it any less or more true. (117–18)
Anticipating the charge of universalism, Young lays his cards on the table:
When Young was asked the question: “Are you suggesting that everyone is saved? That you believe in universal salvation?
Youngs reply:That is exactly what I am saying!” (118). Later he is equally
explicit: “Every human being you meet . . . is a child of God” (206). Thus, hell isn’t separation from God, but simply the pain of resisting the salvation we have and can’t escape (137); and death doesn’t result in final judgment but simply
introduces “a restorative process intended to free us to run into the arms of Love” (187).
Quote from WP Young “ I regard the widespread notion that human beings are separated from God as the fundamental lie”
He talks about “lies” such as “you need to get saved” (ch. 13), “not everyone is a child of God” (ch. 24), and “sin separates us from God” (ch. 27).
To call these statements “lies” is contradictory to scripture.
What is at stake here isn’t merely universalism, but a particular vision of the gospel. It is a different Gospel that Young preaches . It is NOT the Gospel of the Bible.
Regrettably, Young doesn’t really engage the biblical teaching that has led most Christians to reject universalism. One thinks, for example, of Jesus’s recurrent warnings about hell as a place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth”
(Matt. 8:12; 13:42; 13:50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; and so on). In fact, the undiscerning reader of Young’s book may not even understand that universalism is an historically controversial issue, condemned (for instance) by the church in the Fifth Ecumenical Council in Constantinople in AD 553.
Does Sin Separate Us From God? Young says NO.
There’s another reason “Lies We Believe about God” will discourage readers from repenting of their sin—it doesn’t believe we have much sin to repent of. “Yes,” Young admits, “we have crippled eyes, but not a core of ungoodness. We are true and right, but often ignorant and stupid. . . . Blind, not depraved, is our condition” (34–35).
Young can speak of sin as “missing the mark”—but the mark it misses isn’t God’s moral perfection, but rather “the Truth of your being” (229). He continues: “And what does the truth of your being look like? God. You are made in the image of God, and the truth of your being looks like God” (229). Thus, for Young, “sin” doesn’t separate us from God—indeed, “no one has ever been separated from God” (232).
This is in contrast to what scripture teaches.
(Isa. 59:2) “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you”.
In order to encounter God’s affection, we need to acknowledge our deep need for his forgiveness.
We need to repent and be reconciled to God.
Is there punishment of sin.
William P Young says NO.
Quote “I don't need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It's not my purpose to punish it; it's my joy to cure it.”
After watching this film “The Shack”, My opinion is that whilst this is a watchable film with elements based on the Bible, the sentiments portrayed are thoroughly heretical.
1. The message from the film is Universalism. That All people will go to heaven.
Matthew 25:46 says, “Then they [the unsaved] will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Acts 4:12 says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
2. The Shack teaches that sin does not separate men from God.
Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Galatians 5:4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be
justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
Ephesians 2:12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ,
excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
2 Thessalonians 1:9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
3. The Shack teaches there is no punishment for sin. (that sin is its own punishment).
Luke 13:3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Matthew 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Mark 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
2 Thessalonians 1:9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
4. The Shack teaches that there is no such thing as the Wrath of God.
John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”
Proverbs 11:4 “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.”
Psalm 2:12 “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”
Ephesians 5:6 “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”
Romans 2:5 “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”
5. The Shack teaches that all people are children of God.
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
1 John3:8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Ephesians 2:3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Who are chidren of God?
John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
Rom 8:14,15 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit .
6. The Shack teaches that all three persons of the Trinity were crucified on the cross at Calvary.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ died for sins once and for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually
1 Cor 15:21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
The book and film “The Shack” is what it is advertised as Fantasy Drama, a work of fiction which is obviously based on either a near death experience, a dream or a figment of a mans imagination.
This story does not reflect orthodox Christianity or the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
On the contrary, it does show the errors in the beliefs of the author William P Young.
