Finding God In The Shack

Sorting out The Shack! - Chris, West Sussex

Whatever the literary merits of William Young's story, it is Mack's experiences during his weekend in The Shack and his conversations with God, which for me provide by far the most compelling content, and controversy, in the book. I purchased Randal Rauser's Finding God in the Shack in an effort to try and disentangle the issues of faith and belief discussed within The Shack from the story itself. Any internet search reveals the widely diverse reactions to William Young's book from within the faith community. Having read a review of Randal Rauser's book it seemed I could expect a theologian's insights on the book but insights expressed with a degree of objectivity and balance that many of The Shack's more strident critics had failed to achieve. To my surprise the book (given it was written by a theologian!) was approachable, readable and understandable! It was also written with the generosity and balance I had been hoping for. Interestingly it does not attempt to provide definitive answers to the questions of 'truth and error' in ˜The Shack" but rather to discuss, illuminate and inform these questions. Randal Rauser clearly has reservations about some aspects of The Shack but strongly recognises its value in exploring some of the fundamental and difficult questions posed both by those who believe and those who, because of those same questions, find belief difficult or impossible. Randal Rauser's conclusion on The Shack could also describe both the approach and value of his own thought provoking book. It is true that The Shack asks some hard questions and occasionally takes positions with which we might well disagree. But surely the answer is not found in shielding people from the conversation but rather in leading them through it. The Shack will not answer all our questions, nor does it aspire to. But we can be thankful that it has started a great conversation.