Genesis 1: 26 - 27 NKJV
There have been quite few detractors of the book and film adaptation of The Shack since Paul Youngs story came out. Despite the crys of heresy, I have not personally seen the evidence that the story is anti God in any way. However, I HAVE seen that the story is anti religion, anti institutional church and anti establishment. Knowing this, I do not see how this can be a bad thing. This week I ran across a peice by Wayne Jacobsen as he tried to reason as to why there was so much opposition to a story he himself helped create. One of the issues which he raised was one which Dennis had told me about previously. This is the issue that Paul Young inserted God in the form of a large black woman into his story. Now, I was also privy as to why the author would do just that. See, one of the most influential people in Paul Youngs christian life indeed resembled that image of God which he used in The Shack. Now, before anyone goes out on a limb and chooses to proclaim that God Himself, the creator of all that we see daily, is somehow not able to manifest Himself how He sees fit stop and consider that very thought for a moment. I would venture to proclaim that we ourselves have seen or met people in our own lives who may just have been the manifestation of our heavenly Father. So why is this such a shock to anyone? Do we choose to simply accept God as the white haired, bearded elderly image which the church has fed us for thousands of years? I would say THAT is more anti God than this stoy ever was.
"I am what some would say 'holy, and wholly other than you.' The problem is that some folks try to grasp some sense of who I am by taking the best version of themselves, projecting that to the nth degree, factoring in all the goodness they can perceive, which often isn't much, and then call that God. And while it may seem like a noble effort, the truth is that it falls pitifully short of who I really am. I'm not merely the best version of you that you can think of. I am far more than that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think."
~William Paul Young - The Shack~
So, what would the detractors of The Shack have to say if the authors image of God was one of a athletic, blonde haired white man? Don't get me wrong, for if this were the case, there would still be those who would find error in this story in one way or another. This is not a racial or gender conversation as some would have us believe, but one where all of our perceptions about God are challenged. We're told that God is a certain way, so that is what we believe. We're told that God looks a certain way, so this is what we believe. This flys right in the face of the story we find in The Shack. All too often, we view God on our own terms while ignoring who He truly is. We do this in our view that God is a vengeful God, while ignoring the fact that He loved us enough to save us. Our traditional view we have of God is opposite of what the author of The Shack attempts to ferret through. God is not vengeful, God is love {1 John 4:8}. God does not appear to Mack in the story in order to condemn him for his sins, but that through His Fathers love he would walk him through the pain of his childs death. God does not speak fogiveness but then send fire and brimstone in its place. No, He simply finds us where we are at in His love. To do anything else would be contrary to who He truly is. Why did God choose to show Himself as a woman? For those who have read the story or seen the movie, you know of Macks relationship with his abusive father. Therefore, Mack responded differently than he would have to a male figure. One of the truths of our heavenly Father is that He is not limited to our expectations we have of Him. Should He choose to exhibit Himself to someone as a woman in order to exhibit His true love nature, then He is fully capable of doing just that. We do well to remember that it is our heavenly Father who created us male AND female.
~Scott~
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