What would you do if God sent you an invitation to visit with him for a weekend?
That's what happened to Mackenzie Allen Phillips when "Papa" sent him a note, inviting him to visit "The Shack."
"Mackenzie,
It's been a while. I've missed you.
I'll be at the shack next weekend if you want to get together.
Papa."
Mackenzie had been experiencing the "Great Sadness" for about four years...since his youngest daughter, Missy, was abducted on a family vaction.
The question then becomes, how could he possibly accept "God's" aka "Papa's" invitation, without letting anyone know about this seemingly "crazy" invitation.
Mackenzie somehow found a way and visited not only with "Papa" ...but also with Jesus and another "spiritual body."
"The Shack" is a novel by Willam Paul Young.
It really is about the Trinity and an attempt to explain the relationship we all have with God and the roles played by his son and the Holy Ghost.
Whether you believe William Young succeeds in getting a clear message through or not, what you WILL be fascinated with is his portrayal of God (Papa) and the forms in which Jesus and the Holy Ghost show up.
For one, Papa is portrayed throughout as a big-boned African-American woman, who is fun loving and appreciates music. Her name, she says, is "Elouisa....I am the housekeeper and cook."
Jesus is of Middle Eastern descent. His name is "Yeshua, but I also have been known to respond to Joshua or even Jesse."
"I try to to keep things fixed up around here."
The Holy Ghost ,who moves in and out, only takes the form of a an Asian woman (described as Chinese, Nepalese or Mongolian), Sarayu. She is the keeper of the gardens.
There were some powerful scenes throughout the book, where Mack awakened to the Spirit within him and his continuing connection to God. But was this book the answer to ALL questions about GOD, like say, "Conversations With God" by Donald Neale Walsh? Hardly.
It first, focused too much on Religious Teachings vs. Spirituality.Next, it used stereotypical images to portray and confound your image of God.
Did it work?
NO. NO-O. NO!
You could NOT get PAST the STEREOTYPES OF GOD, Jesus and the Holy Ghost portrayed in the book!
My question throughout is: WHY IS HE TRYING TO MESS WITH THE GOD IMAGE? Then...totally insulting EVEN people's SUSPENDED beliefs about God!
William Young had done SUCH a GOOD job in spending time describing God (Papa), Jesus and Sarayu, that you COULD NOT GET PAST THEIR HUMAN IMAGES.
There were absolutely NO confounding truths, or even ANY THING, that I could call profound about this book. It simply is a novel.
But ...even as a novel...you did NOT get the completion of the story of Missy's disappearance.
Worth reading?
You betcha!
Why?
To stay informed. ...everyone ELSE in the Religious and Spirituality community is Bzzed up about it!
As for TRUTH...NONE HERE!
Read instead, "Conversations with God," or any of Wayne Dyer's or Deepak Chopra's books instead.
Namaste',
Che'
2 comments:
I read this book and then I had my 12 year old son read it because I thought it was an engaging experience and provided an opportunity to contemplate the "god head" in a simple but effective way (distinct beings with magnificent single purpose.)
I would not discount the genuine nuggets of greatness in this book. Here's a favorite "Responsibilities and expectations are the basis of guilt and shame and judgment, and they provide the essential framework that promotes performance as the basis for identity and value."
His favorite; "humans are not defined by their limitations, but by the intentions that I have for them; not by what they seem to be,but by everything it means to be created in my image."
I have to say that "The Shack" by William P. Young was a very thought provoking read.
After reading the book, I was left pondering several things about it – which is a true testament to the book's worth. I had several questions on the validity of some of the descriptions of God but I had to humbly admit that there may be no answers this side of heaven for how God presents Himself to each individual.
I posted a more in-depth review of this book on my own blog www.tracysbooknook.com.
-Tracy
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