Each year I purchase a significant number of books. Most of these are related to Christianity — theologies, commentaries, spiritual life, church history, marriage, counseling, and the like — but I also will purchase other books as well — sports, gardening (for Raye Jeanne), histories, fiction, and books of interest to our girls.
But for all the thousands of books I have purchased over the years, a couple weeks ago, I experienced a first. I purchased a book at a local Christian bookstore, took it home, opened it up, and saw a piece of paper sticking out of the top of the book. It wasn’t my receipt (as I initially thought it was). It was a warning. Never before had I purchased a book with a disclaimer added by the bookseller.
The book was The Shack, and the warning read in part,
The Shack…has been a great encouragement to many people dealing with broken relationships and personal tragedy. Some theological concerns, however, have been expressed about certain elements of this fictional story, and we therefore encourage you to read it with extra discernment…
So began my foray into this wildly popular book (more than 3 million copies are currently in print). READ DISCERNINGLY! It is a warning worth heeding. If you want my conclusion without reading the details, here it is: don’t read the book. As a very best scenario, the book is confusing about the Godhead and Christianity, and at the worst, it is heretical.…
Due to the length of this review, I have chosen not to post it in its entirety. However, you may read the rest by downloading the review here.
There are several other reviews and resources that I have found helpful, including:
- Tim Challies’ review
- Al Mohler’s analysis on his radio program
- The Briefing: “We Need More Shack Time”
Words of Grace 
Brother Enns, thank you for your good review. I read it with profit, as the book has (unfortunately) just been translated into German and will now threaten the German speaking church – I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case!
One small correction: In your 5th to last paragraph you have the sentence:
That is not to say that Young does not believe in salvation by grace through faith in Christ’s cross work. It is to say that He does not articulate that most fundamental tenet of the Christian faith.
He should be small, of course, otherwise the sentence implies that Christ didn’t articulate this tenet of the faith :). But any thinking person who read that far in your review would know what you meant.
Thanks again,
Brad Beevers
You are absolutely right. As many times as I proof something, I seem to always miss something. Thanks for drawing my attention to it; I’ll correct it and re-post the article.
It’s now been corrected and re-posted.