The Shack

I want to start with a little disclaimer. If you have read my blog before, you may be expecting a review. But I'd like to do more than just tell you what the movie is about and what I thought (the same goes for books). So let's see how this goes this summer.

When discussing the movie The Shack, it is hard to ignore the negative feedback that the book has received. Some people are quite concerned with the depiction of God. They say it is too casual, too familiar, perhaps even too loving (as in not as focussed on justice, sin, right and wrong). But these people are forgetting a few important things.

One, this is a work of fiction. While it feels like it could (or should) be a true story, and resonates with certain real incidents, it is in fact a fictional story that is meant to demonstrate how God can work in the lives of individuals. Are we to believe that God will manifest himself as a black woman who cooks for us, a young carpenter, or an Asian girl who likes to garden? No, but He could. And each of these characters - following a long tradition of using symbolism in fiction - has been chosen to represent an aspect of God.

Which leads us to the second point: all of this is meant to be an allegory. In the context of the story, we are never told whether this was something the man actually experienced, either physically or mentally, but we know that he believes it and it changes him. The most important thing about his time at the shack is not what he saw and did, but what it all meant. He comes to see God as a comforting, familiar personality. God the Father is portrayed as a motherly figure, taking care of His children, teaching them, and - most importantly - loving them in spite of all they have done to hurt Him. God the Son is hands-on, a man of action, leading by example, helping others. The Holy Spirit is planting seeds of faith, pruning the hearts and spirits (represented by the garden) of believers to help them to grow in God's love.

The symbolism continues in the interaction with Wisdom, which I bring up mostly because I think it is such a poignant moment. The main character spends most of the movie doubting God and being angry with the LORD because he can't come to terms with the fact that God allowed his daughter to die. But what he learns is that God loves all of his children as much as we love our own, and He doesn't mercilessly judge them for their actions. He doesn't want to send His children to hell, so He went in their place and gave them away to avoid the punishment for their wrongdoings by letting Him take it on. 

Point three: this is the gospel. This is the most important part of the book. And it is there, quite clearly. It even functions as the turning point, when the character's relationship with God finally changes and he comes to peace with the tragedy he has gone through.

So, while there may be some less-than-theological aspects of this story, they are there for a reason. The author uses the conventions of the genre he is working with in order to communicate the core of the gospel to readers. As Christians, we see the issues and we want to call them out. Or maybe we have different doctrinal beliefs and we feel the need to correct others. But we need to consider that this is meant to be a reminder of God's love for us. More importantly, this book and movie have the potential to draw non-Christian audiences. These people are not familiar with the gospel and may not see the errors. And yes, this can be an issue. But most likely they will pick up on the main message of love and sacrifice, and that's what matters. This can be a stepping stone, a threshold leading people to the gospel and salvation.

Theology is important, but so is opening doors for discussion. So before we call out all of the little issues we have with this movie, let's remember how impactful this message could be to someone who is in desparate need of God's love.