The Idolatry of THE SHACK exposed

A friend of mine composed this, and I give him full credit. However for privacy, I will not mention his name. Thank God there are still some Christians out there.



Idolatry can be defined as "worship or reverence given to any created object or person." It actually takes many forms, not just the "praying to statues" that many people think of when they hear the word "idolatry." It can also be defined as “using an object or method to reach the divine” that is not expressed in scripture.

Ken Sande wrote“An idol is not simply a statue of wood, stone, or metal; it is anything we love and pursue in place of God, and can also be referred to as a ‘false god’ or a ‘functional god.’ In biblical terms, an idol is something other than God that we set our hearts on ( Luke 12:29;1 Cor. 10:6), that motivates us (1 Cor. 4:5), that masters or rules us (Ps. 119:133), or that we serve (Matt. 6:24).” Idolatry doesn’t have to be manifest though carved statues, drawings, or any other outward images. It can be all in your head. You need not express anything or make anything physical or material in order to be an idolater. Likewise you need not make the physical outward action of bowing down or praying. All you have to do to be an idolater is have an image that exceeds the importance of God. Some common examples are: Money, sex, fame, stuff, religion, food, celebrities, self esteem, knowledge, your wife, your husband, your kids, your job, your comfort, your lives. ANY thing that takes up more importance in your life than GOD, is an idol. This is the danger of The Shack. Not only does it portray God in a nurturing, pampering way in that He just feels sorry for us and has a human shaped hole in His heart, It also physically describes Him in unbiblical human characteristics.

John Calvin wrote: “The human heart is a factory of idols.. Every one of us is, from his mother’s womb, an expert in inventing idols.”“ An idol is something within creation that is inflated to function as God. All sorts of things are potential idols, depending only on our attitudes and actions toward them...Idolatry may not involve explicit denials of God’s existence or character. It may well come in the form of an over-attachment to something that is, in itself, perfectly good...An idol can be a physical object, a property, a person, an activity, a role, an institution, a hope, an image, an idea, a pleasure, a hero - anything that can substitute for God.” Richard Keyes

The Shack is guilty of idolatry in 3 ways. First it physically portrays God the Father and God the Holy Spirit in unbiblical ways, that is, it describes their appearance, and gives them human form. Something Scripture is very careful to NOT do. It also describes Jesus, and although Jesus is also man, we have very little description of his appearance in scripture. The Shack goes well beyond the boundaries of the bible into some very dangerous territory. Even giving unbiblical gender titles to God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

Secondly it gives unbiblical characteristics to God. Characteristics that are downright humanistic, worldly, and dare I say it, anti Christ. The thing that stood out for me was that Young has the impression that God does not need to punish sin. He states, “At that, Papa stopped her preparations and turned toward Mack. He could see a deep sadness in her eyes. ‘I am not who you think I am, Mackenzie. I don’t need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It is not my purpose to punish it; it’s my joy to cure it’” (119) While this sounds nice and sweet, it’s simply not true. If God doesn’t need to punish sin, then Jesus died for nothing, and Hell doesn’t exist. No, God is just, and because He is just He MUST punish sin, otherwise He ceases to be just. This is not only unbiblical, but the god Young wants to worship has schizophrenia and has no intention of holding to her own word. The Bible says God is the just judge, and will judge according to His righteousness, but “Papa” doesn’t need to be just. Can you imagine a thief being caught by the police after a high speed car chase, brought before a judge, and the judge saying something like “I don’t need to punish your crime, the crime itself was punishment enough. you’ve been though a lot, and I’m sure you just have a disease, let me cure you.” Embarrassing and insulting, this is not a god I would worship. This is a god that is more corrupt than the criminals he lets go free.

Finally, the book itself is an idol. People are praising, bubbling, and gushing about how much they just LOVED and adored the book, it’s truly unreal. What I find funny is it’s all about feelings, and self esteem. This book makes people feel good therefore they love it. While it lies to them, and tickles their ears, it slips them deadly poison while they are emotionally involved, and their guard is down. This is why I hate to hear about people recommending it to others, especially people who are supposedly “Christian”. I thought Christians loved to read the word of truth, not heresy. Christians are Christ followers not Christ abandoners. Why people call themselves Christian while loving The Shack is beyond me. I just CANNOT for the life of me understand people who profess their love for Christ yet love this fiction that is so blatantly anti Christ. How can you love this book? My initial reaction to the book when I first flipped though the pages was a partially digested body fluid rising from my stomach, leaving a burning gross tasting acid in the back of my mouth. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Yet this book claims the same old heresy, repackaged, and people just gobble it up. When people recommend The Shack to others it shows that they hold it in high esteem, even disregarding the biblical command that you should not encourage idols. How can anyone then say that they don’t hold The Shack higher than scripture when scripture strictly forbids this type of activity. You deceive yourself by disobeying and then denying that you disobeyed. When people say things like “well I can distinguish between the good theology and the unbiblical teaching” All I can say is the Bible says to stay away, don’t touch, run away, don’t even think about it. It does not say “if you can distinguish”. Besides that, I doubt anyone who reads The Shack doesn’t already have an image of a god who doesn’t punish sin. My friends, line yourselves up with the word of God, test yourself to see if you are in the faith. Make your calling and election sure. Don’t ask me for any excuse that I might budge on this issue, because that would be favoritism on my part, and I am simply trying to proclaim the word of Truth in an unbiased way. I am not here to make you comfortable, pat you on the head and say that you’re ok. I will not say you are going to heaven if you read the shack with a great deal of discernment, nor will I give license to read it with a certain motive. Likewise I am also not here to poke you in the eye until you hate me. I’m not out with the agenda to make people mad just for the sake of being right or making the world burn with hatred. I am here to plead with you and beg you, make sure you are saved, examine yourselves to see if you are born again.

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9,10 If any of these thing describes you, please be aware, that I don’t hate you, I am pleading with you to stop it, repent towards God, and believe on the sacrifice made in your place by Jesus Christ. “Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance because he shows us both God and our own wretchedness.” Blaise Pascal

One last thing I wish to leave you with, and that is the biblical punishment for idolatry

Deuteronomy 13:6 If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, 7 gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), 8 do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. 9 You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. 10 Stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again. This is a scary punishment. I thank God that I live in the age of grace because I would have been stoned before I reached my 9th birthday. And if I was lucky enough to escape that punishment, I would be required by law to stone other people who have recommended The Shack to me. Don’t comfort yourself saying that God won’t punish this sin though. Don’t sear your conscience saying that this was just a punishment for Israelites, because God has a place called hell and it‘s worse than stoning. Repent of your wickedness, turn away from your own lusts and desires, turn away from The Shack and trust alone in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins.