Heresy in 'The Shack'?

[Monica4316]

Hi

I’ve never read “the Shack” and I don’t really plan to… but I have some friends who were thinking of reading it.

I was wondering - is there any heresy in this book? or any incorrect theology? if so, what is it? If you read it, what did you think?

I heard that some parts of it implied universalism… is that so? Also, I heard that the author describes the Holy Trinity as a circle, but I’m not sure if this is right.

Thank you

 

[Monica4316]

I also read a description of how the book presents the Persons of the Trinity… and I’m not really comfortable with it, to be honest. I don’t think we can imagine God in whatever way we’d like. It also doesn’t seem very reverent to me.

a reviewer on Amazon said, (if I may quote him )

“We have gone from one extreme (God is an impersonal force that wants to punish me) to the other (God blows smoke rings, listens to punk rock and is my buddy). This is exactly like the enemy. He beats us up with one wrong image of God, then he shoves us all the way off the other end of the shelf by presenting a completely different, wrong image of God.”

what are your thoughts?

 

[Joe_5859]

There is a huge thread on this book:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=240831

It should give you more info than you ever wanted.

As the book is not a theological treatise, I don’t know that I’d call it “heresy”, but there are definitely ideas in the book that are not consistent with Catholic doctrine.

 

[chaunceygardner]

I read it about a year or so back. The book was given to me by a relative who is Catholic, but who lives in the Bible Belt. I know many other Catholic relatives and friends who have read it. None of them have changed religions because of it. When you get past the very unusual view of the Trinity it certainly has many good ideas about suffering and forgiveness.

I don’t think it would “hurt” anyone to read the book; it could even be helpful in a spiritual way. One person told me the book made them think. Not a bad thing.