The Shack (continued)
The existence of evil - On page 136, the author states, "Mackenzie, evil is a word we use to describe the absence of Good, just as we use the word darkness to describe the absence of Light or death to describe the absence of Life. Both evil and darkness can only be understood in relation to Light and Good; they do not have any actual existence." We know from Biblical revelation that evil does actually exist in the universe. Satan is called the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31) and the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4), and will one day be vanquished by Christ Himself forever (Revelation 20:7-10).
The “submission” of God - While the author is accurate in making it quite clear that God the Son subjected Himself as a servant, (by first taking on the form of a human, and then willingly going to his death as an unfairly condemned criminal), Young makes some very confusing statements about God’s servanthood. For instance, on page 145 we read, “Submission is not about authority and it is not obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect. In fact, we are submitted to you in the same way.” Also, on pages 236-237 we read, “God, the servant,” he chuckled but then felt a welling up again as the thought made him pause. “It is more truly God, my servant.” There is no indication in Scripture, whatsoever, that God can be stated as being ‘my servant.’ God, through Jesus Christ, is ‘a servant’… but not in submission to man. This concept of God submitting to man is humanistic philosophy at its core and very clearly serves to undermine the sovereign authority of God.
Responsibility before God – The author tries to reject the notion that humans are responsible before God… page 205… "My words are alive and dynamic-full of life and possibility; yours are dead, full of law and fear and judgment. That is why you won't find the word responsibility in the Scriptures." And on page 206… “Honey, I've never placed an expectation on you or anyone else.” In actuality, the word responsibility is found numerous times in Scripture. In the NIV it is found over 70 times. The concept, of course, is found numerous times, as well. The Parable of the
Talents, for instance, is a clear teaching from Jesus Himself, that God holds us accountable to use the resources He has given us. In addition, all the passages of Scripture that teach Spiritual gifts indicate, once again, that God holds us responsible to utilize the blessings and gifts He has bestowed upon us. Clearly, this effort by Young to escape the realities of personal responsibility is a New Age teaching that imagines a God who is very friendly, but has no sovereign authority.
Universalism – On page 182 we read a very confusing and potentially dangerous paragraph… “They arrived at the door of the workshop. Again Jesus stopped. ‘Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims, Democrats, Republicans and many who don’t vote or are not part of any Sunday morning or religious institutions… I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa…” Does Young mean to say that all roads lead to heaven? Or does he mean to say that believers in Jesus have been saved out of any and all human religions and systems. If he means the former then he is clearly teaching unbiblical universalism. And at the very least, this paragraph is unnecessarily confusing.
Pastor Marcus Elmer