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The Shack

Category: Book

Buy Used: Ł4.13

Used (13) from Ł4.13

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

19 reviews
Sales Rank: 11304

Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5 x 0.7

ISBN: 0964729237
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780964729230
ASIN: 0964729237

Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new copy in stock and available for immediate dispatch from High Wycombe, Bucks, UK

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 6-10 of 19

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discriminate June 30, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

I dont think this was meant to be a Christian handbook. Although at the end of the book they are pushing people to buy many copies and distribute them among friends. I think if God were to appear before someone for a weekend he may use the method described in the book. I found the teaching to be solid, especially where they talk about Gods love and how he treats sinners, (The part in the cave). Get out of it what you can and pray for guidance on what you leave between the pages.

1 out of 5 stars

Not Christian theology June 12, 2008
9 out of 21 found this review helpful

Whatever else this unusual account of God is, it is not Christian. The doctrine portrayed here is not that of the Trinity - it is the ancient modalist heresy. That is why leaders of the calibre of Albert Moehler and Mark Driscoll have condemned it. As usual, too many sentimentalists have been taken in by nonsense.

If you really want to read a book about an explanation of suffering, get hold of Ken Ham's "How could a loving God...?"

1 out of 5 stars

THE SERPENT's SUGGESTION (v2.00.8) June 10, 2008
11 out of 25 found this review helpful

Opportunistic writers will always prey on the convictions of the faithful. From Christian to Muslim, getting a thorn in their side and twisting is bound to get a reaction - and cash in the free publicity that comes with this. Controversial works sell much faster than good works. In 1988, Salman Rushdie's SATANIC VERSES sold far better than McCarthy's masterpiece BLOOD MERIDIAN. Twenty years later, here comes THE SHACK.

A father in grief agrees to meet with God and has a weekend of conversations with Him. Far from being overly blasphemous, the book will push for subtle deviations that will lead to paradoxical conclusions:
"God is a small entity " (there goes creationism, thank God I am an evolutionist!)
"God is created in our image" (a scary thought for humans: does this include Pol Pot? Henry Kissinger? Hitler?).
"There is no such thing as sin" (since the classic definition of sin is missing one's aim towards God's grace, how about a Godless existence? Still not a sin?)

Personal insights may offer a titillating perspective yet they are rarely Theologically correct - no more than untested personal opinions can become Scientific facts. Faith of course is a personal choice. One should be wary though of seemingly too wide and too easy a path.

In the end, under this benign skin slithers the same old temptation to our pride that lead to Original Sin: God has been created in your image - and You Are Gods Too.

As literature I found it mediocre. As a life-guide, I found it insidious.

5 out of 5 stars

Unsettling yet wonderful June 9, 2008
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

Came at The Shack with mixed views, having read some people's queries over some of its theology and the unusual presentation of the Trinity in its pages. But I have to say, I could not put the book down. I still have a few minor queries over bits of it, but basically this is a wonderful piece of writing and does what Walter Hooper famously said of the Narnia Chronicles: it "creeps past those watchful dragons of childhood preconceptions and stained glass windows" and surprises you utterly with the God you find there.

Challenging, deep, wholesome and healing, this is a wonderful experience to read. I highly recommend it to you.

5 out of 5 stars

the only book I started rereading as soon as I finished June 2, 2008
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

I would normally stay far away from 'Christian fiction' genre. A friend lent me this book so I read it. It is incredible.

The story is simple Mack's young daughter is abducted and killed on a family camping trip. Obviously this changes his life and makes him very bitter to God. The book is about a weekend Mack spends with God at the invitation of God at the place where his daughter was killed. It seems a really risky subject matter particularly as fiction. The conversations between God in his three persons and Mack which form the main part of the book are hugely thought provoking and unsurprisingly rather moving.

I found a sense of understanding about some issues that have been doubts in my faith. The overwhelming message is about how incredibly God loves every one of his children - people of faith and no faith. It certainly blows away a lot of the way 'religion' is seen and I found that hugely refreshing.

As soon as I finished reading it I started reading certain sections all over again.

For the reviewer who suspects a conspiracy because the other reviewers who gave a 5* hadn't reviewed anything else - I have, if that somehow makes any difference to my opinion.

I don't know how a reader of other faiths or no faiths would find the book - I suspect fairly irritating, although I feel still a lot could be taken away from it.