Sugar Shack: Building my own sugar shack has always been a childhood dream!Being a father who works full time, 3 seasons have passed between the design and the final construction. A major work yes, but I am very proud of the result! I have attached all the. Four years later, in this midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change his life forever.
Mackenzie Allen Phillips's youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness.
Four years later, in this midst of his great sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change his life forever.
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The main character Mac, has gone through the senseless murder of his youngest daughter. It is in a long, deep struggle with self, faith, God, living! Not understanding the senseless of it all. I can so identify and connect with how Young expresses a type of imagined (and maybe not so far off) amazing comfort and down to earth awesome God Who meets us at our very deepest need. Is God a black women? Or is He Who you think He is?? I think not even the latter one. But He is the Great Comforter and is a constant companion to everyone who looks for Him, cries out to Him, is desperate for Him. He comes to each in a personal way, invitation to have Him as our personal Savior, counselor, comforter.
I hope you’ll find His comfort in your darkest times by being encouraged by His provisions. It just may be in this book as you travel with Mac through a painful time of healing and realizing how much the Trinity is “especially fond of you!”
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So do I recommend you read this; yes. I believe there are a number of reasons why you should read The Shack. Well, as long as you don't come out afterwards saying 'It put everything into perspective' or 'I finally understand the Trinity' haha :P
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I'll get to the negatives in a minute. First, I've wondered why is there such a widespread disagreement over the merits of the movie? I've heard some people exclaiming how good they felt, or how deeply they were moved, at the conclusion of the film. Others claim it is outright heresy. I believe the disagreement stems from whether one's relationship with God is based primarily on experiential truth or propositional truth. If its based on experiential truth, then the author describes a wonderful experience of Divine healing for deep pain and resentment. The response will be positive. If its based on propositional truth, then this book twists it and distorts it so much that the reader is easily lead astray. The response will then be negative. That's just my observation.
Anyway, there are many negative things about this book. First, there are three incarnations of God, not one as per the Bible. I realize this is to be imaginary tale, but because it is set in reality many people will allow it to mold and to limit their perception of God. Second, there is no element of Divine justice or wrath. Instead, the author repeatedly hints at universalism, claiming it is Papa's plan to 'redeem all his children.' Third, there is nothing mentioned about repentance or regeneration. The spiritual progression is more one of self-discovery and self-liberation. Fourth, the sparse references to Scripture and to the church are negative rather than positive.
I could continue listing ways in which this movie misses the mark, but there's enough in these four basic points to encourage my church members to beware of its misleading nature. Is the author intentionally promoting heresy? I wouldn't go that far. That's examining motive, which I'm unable to do. As far as the content however, this book does far more damage spiritually than it does good.
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The reading was pleasant to listen too, and well paced. Some of the 'voices' were a little twee - but again, wryly amusing :)
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1) The author IS a theologian.
2) The author presented a theological paper supporting universalism to his peers before the book was published.
3) The book was edited to remove a lot of its universalistic language before being published.
4) The book is not systematic theology, but it WAS written to teach about God, and therefore is theological by definition.
5) This book deals with the same subject as the book of Job.
My recommendation: if you must read The Shack, read it along side the book of Job, and then ask yourself who is putting God in a box...
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We can all wish God to be whatever we want, and in that way, we create God in our image. This is exactly what the Author of the Shack has provided us with. If this helps you 'understand' God (apart from what He is not like) then I would ask you to what God your trust is in.
I am not saying that as a fiction book the Shack is not interesting.. but considering the One True God who is eternal, unchanging, and faithful drank the cup of wrath for us, it would seem important that our trust is actually in _that_ God and not the foolish one that is presented in the Shack.
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10 out 10 for this one.
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If you want something to read for the sake of a story, fine. But don't pick up this book thinking you'll have any additional insight into the character or nature of God, or the way God deals with evil on the earth. In this sense, the book is a waste of time.
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This book has been a blessing to me. I have a daughter who is in heaven with my Jesus. God does Listen to our hearts. And he knows when we are in pain. There are times in our lives that many of us blame God for what happens in our lives instead of thanking God for the wonderful things he does in our lives. I believe this book was meant to be to show us how dearly God Loves us! In the 'bible' it says Judge not lest you be judged. As for me I'll let God be judge over me. As christians we have to listen to what God is doing in our lives. May God Bless you as you read this. I don't know about you but I want a closer walk with my Papa.
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Is this work a challenge? You better believe it! God has appeared to man in many forms in the Bible so why not like in this book?
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I threw the book out...
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Also I would like to add that any potential readers, please don't be deterred by the bad ratings that were given by those 'Christians' who are living their whole lives with horse blinders on, refusing to open their eyes and minds and accept that their own visions of what God might be like probably isn't right. So again, believe me that this book is wonderful and you will love reading it. God bless!
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Frankly, this really isn’t my cup of tea. I prefer my theology in a nonfiction format. On the other hand, Chesterton’s Orthodoxy or Lewis’s Mere Christianity are not likely to attract the casual reader today. We can pray that the Holy Spirit will use the popularity of The Shack to lead seekers to reconsider their hostility towards God.
The narrator is very good. It was a little over the top on the histrionics scale in a few spots, but I liked the voices. The voices were good; only once or twice did I have trouble figuring out who was speaking.
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This is the tip of the ice berg of problems with this book. Some have said it is a good relationship book. It is prudent and necessary to ask 'Relationship with WHOM?' With God? of some one who is NOT God. A false god? If not God then it is Satan. There are only two paths God's and Satan's. This one is continually deceptive, manipulative, and always making subtle, right-sounding exceptions to what is right and true and really God's.
I encourage those wondering if this is a good book for Christians or anyone else to read to read Norman Geisler's article on the Shack found on his site. Listen to Michael Youseff's sermon on it. Research what is said in the Bible. And look for Matt Slick's interview with the Author. it is archived online. You will hear and see the book held accountable by God's word. It is never ok to misrepresent God, the trinity, and the word of God.
Being fiction is not excuse. Liking the warm feeling is what the devil uses to hook and mislead the elect and the unsaved follow.
The book is deviously subtle and appealing.
But everything Satan uses IS.
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You will benefit from listening to this book. It is not a teaching book. It is a man pouring out his heart and exposing his soul. God bless you William P. Young.
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There's no sense to the argument that the author's not trying to teach theology, so we shouldn't criticize the theology of the book. He most certainly IS trying to teach people a different way of looking at God (that is, theology). And that way is unbiblical. Do some people have a wrong view of God? Yes, of course. But the answer is not to replace that with a different wrong view of God. The answer is to point them to the God of the Bible and let them choose whether to believe in Him as He really is.
Some like to complain that Christians are judgmental, but Jesus said, 'Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.' So we ARE commanded to judge. And in the case of this book, while it APPEARS interesting and provocative and multi-cultural and all that nonsense, righteous judgment requires us to say that more than anything else, it's unbiblical. If you haven't read it, don't. Stick to God's Word.
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In all seriousness, I really think this is a brilliant book. Its not perfect. There are a few lines that I wish has been worded differently. I have a handful of slight theological differences with what is presented in the book. However, as a whole, it is simply beautiful. Highly recommended!
I will also warn you that the first 1/4 of the book will be very rough for most parents in that it involves a kidnapping and violence toward a child.
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