By far the most comprehensive review and treatment of The Shack is that of Tim Challies. He’s got it in a professional looking PDF which is designed better than most Christian books for crying out loud. I would almost recommend just reading his little PDF rather than actually reading the book, but I think the book is helpful on several counts. But, in a pinch, read the PDF.

I don’t really wish to combat the theology of The Shack, and believe me this novel is heavily theological, but I would like to encourage one thing: caveat lector. Why should the reader beware?

Caveat Lector

The biggest problem I see with reading The Shack and really divesting oneself in the story is that the theology of The Shack will find its way into your theology surreptitiously. In other words, the danger is that your view of God will become that of The Shack. God is not Sarayu (the name adopted by the Holy Spirit meaning “wind” in Sanskrit). God the Father is not a buxom black lady.

But, you might say, that surely this critique could leveled against any book, that one musn’t allow the view of God presented in that book to become their view of God. The difference, however, is that the God presented in The Shack is not built explicitly and solely from Scripture, but is born out of one man’s experience.