Musings: Notes From My Daybook

One man's story has become quite the hit among American readers lately.  William Young's recent novel The Shack recently received attention in  the New York Times .   Young writes about a middle-aged man who suffers a tragic experience and then is surprised by an extraordinary weekend with God--or more accurately, the Trinity.  The book would probably not made it to the local bookstore, except for the creative and daring way Young positions (spoiler alert!) the protagonist and his encounter with God.  Mack spends the weekend with three persons--an African American woman, a middle Eastern craftsman, and an Asian woman who flutters around.

Throughout the weekend the conversations that Mack has with his three hosts are full of theological and pastoral import.  Young has his characters wrestling with the trinity (obviously--though it seems that both scripture and  the tradition of the church had been anything but obvious about the nature of God), redemption, incarnation, theodicy, providence, revelation, and eschatology to name several!  So the idea that a piece of fiction could do all that is really quite intriguing.

Indeed, learning something about Young himself compelled me to read The Shack.  Young had suffered abuse as a child and had plenty of hard knocks in his life.  The story, before it was published, was a gift to his children as a way to convey the wonder of God's grace and forgiveness.  Such a noteworthy project is worth notice.

But the experience of reading the book was mixed.  Although I appreciate Young's desire to communicate something of the character of God through the the genre of a novel, overall I found myself thinking that what Young was simply trying to do too much.  One can write a novel and through the novel offer theological insight or ask theological questions.  But to think that a novel can also be an introduction to the Christian faith, a theological primer, is a bit of a stretch!  In trying to do both things--write fiction and explore theological truth in so many areas is downright risky.

In doing so, Young leaves me as a reader feeling a little bit manipulated.  It is like going to church to hear a message about God's grace and the preacher switches the theme and instead heaps a load of guilt on your for not trying harder.  From a literary point of view, the reader enters into the fictive world that Young creates.  The reader then endures a rather stark "let me tell you, not show you" style only to find that plot that is developed is a mechanism to then engage in theological pontification.

I want to be careful here.  I believe that Young's interest is in presenting the truth of God's interest in a genuine relationship with human and to offer the good news of the capacity of forgiveness to bring healing into our lives.  These are deep truths, grounded in scripture and sustained by the church's teaching.  Young's instinct is on target.  But in trying to cover so much theological ground, there are some gaping holes that really detract from what he desires to accomplish.

Having said that, I would hasten to say that for many readers, Young's vision about God does create some synergy.  For many readers, especially those who have not read deeply the Bible, to think about God as a vibrant mother figure or to consider the Holy Spirit as a person, or to think about the Trinity in terms of relationship may well be a new and distinctive feature.  And for that Young has done an exceedingly helpful thing!