My Reading Nook

I know I haven’t written a review in some time. That’s not because I haven’t been reading because I have, however, this particular book took longer than most because of the message it imparts.

The Shack by William P Young takes a long hard look at man’s relationship with the Holy Trinity and eradicates all teachings from the Bible except one.

That God is Love.

The Shack relates a story of a family struck by terrible tragedy and the struggle that is ocurring by the members over what happened.

The family vacations to a remote area in Oregon and while one daughter is nearly drwoned, another is kidnapped and killed; her body never recovered. Understandably, the members of the family are shocked, grieved and question God on why this terrible thing happened to their small, innocent daughter.

Mackenzie Phillips blames himself for what happened to Missy. He questions the benevolence of God because of this. When he receives a letter from God instructing him to return to the shack where the last vestiges of his daughter’s life were found, he decides to make the trip in secret there to wrestle with the questions he has.

He discovers God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost whom he calls Papa, Jesus and Sarayu respectively and together they teach him about God’s love and what it means. He learns that he must forgive the man who harmed Missy and most of all, he must forgive himself.

The Shack’s message will shock many people who believe in fundamental religion, but it’s message is one that rings of truth and make you question all you think you know about God and his plan for mankind.

The Shack by William P Young
Published by Windblown Media 2007
ISBN: 978-0-9647292-3-0