From Killer to Kinkade, A Review of The Shack: Part 1

I readily admit that I have read a good number of the Left Behind books. I started reading Mr. Jenkins and Mr. LaHaye long before I had actually read Revelation, and definitely before I had read Hoekema. I passed their books out at Christmas, quipped in theological conversations about who the anti-christ would be, debated whether or not our clothes would be neatly folded upon our rapture, and thought it was good common sense to slap a "Car Will be Unmanned in Case of Rapture" sticker on bumpers.

When I got to seminary, I heard a different story. "The worst piece of fiction in the history of earth" "So theologically unsound that one might gain more insight into the mind of God by drinking acetone" "I don't know about you, but Jerry B. Jenkins' prose makes me want to unlearn English". What had happened to me is quite common. I believed that, for no good reason, popularity equaled rightness. I believed that because Left Behind was evangelical, because it was heralded by some churches, and because it was always sitting in the front bookshelves of bookstores, it must have been the truth and nothing but the truth. But of course the syllogism 'if popular, then true' is about as fallacious as it gets. Fortunately, I know now that pre-tribulational/pre-millenial eschatological theology is, technically speaking, crap-o-la.

And yet I continue to admit to people, unashamedly, that I read and listened to all but the last two Left Behind novels. Why? Simply, because they were fun and partially true. Yes, Jenkins is about a good a writer as I am a trapeze artist, but he knows a thing or two about plot development, suspense and people. And that makes for some interesting reading. Moreover, there was a good amount of biblical Christianity there. While their notions of Israel and the end were all wrong, the more basic stuff about God and the gospel were fine. So what am I saying? Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, of course.

And that's the case, too, with The Shack. I just finished it over the weekend and had two reactions: (1) It is better than I thought it would be, and (2) It is worse than I thought it would be. But that is just the thing William P. Young wants to elicit from his readers: Your preconceived notions limit you, especially when it comes to relating to God. And that sort of overarching proposition makes for fun reviewing. Though I will take Young to "the shack" on some issues, I will praise others. His polarizing work is quite interesting and brings to the forefront the issue of art and accuracy in biblical theology. I hope that it will help us engage this issue and our own beliefs on a new level.

Part 2 coming soon...