Trinity-Part 4

One of the more popular books of 2008 was The Shack by William Young. Young has said that the book was originally meant to be his own catharsis that helped him deal with the suffering and questions he had struggled with about God. His wife encouraged him to get it published and the rest is history. I read The Shack last year and understand why it has been so popular. It's a very gripping and heartfelt story that will speak to anyone who has grappled with questions about needless pain an suffering in this world.

Mack is the main character in the book and has endured a long period in life referred to as "The Great Sadness." It's a period brought on by the tragic abduction and murder of his daughter. One day in his mailbox he discovers a note from "Papa" to come and meet him at the shack (the location where his daughter was murdered). "Papa" is his wife's endearing term for God the Father, so Mack is skeptical about what the letter means. He finally decides to make the trip and so begins a weekend where he encounters God in Trinity.

"Papa" is a rotund black lady who loves to cook, has some interesting tastes in music, and a questionable sense of humor. Jesus is a middle eastern laborer. The Holy Spirt is a lady named "Sarayu." Although the story is engaging and may seem to help many who have struggled with God's ways, it contains some outright distortions about the Trinity.

First, it's modalism, plain and simple. Modalism was a heretical teaching in the early church that suggested that God existed in different expressions (or modes) throughout history. In the Old Testament He is God the Father. In the gospels He is the Son of God. After the Ascension He indwells believers as the Holy Spirit. In The Shack, Papa says at one point, "I am truly human in Jesus." That's modalism. God the Father isn't human; He is God. Only Jesus took on human flesh. This is alluded to again when "Papa" is described as having scars on His body as a result of His suffering. Again, only Jesus suffered for our sins, not the Father.

We read later, "When we three spoke ourselves into human existence as the Son of God, we became fully human." Sorry Mr. Young, but no, God didn't do that. Neither God nor the Holy Spirit have ever taken human form. This is the distinction we have spoken about in Trinity. To suggest that each of them have existed in this way is to ascribe to modalism.

In fact, my hunch is that Young rejects much of what the Nicene Creed (A.D. 325) asserted about the Trinity. In the Trinity, there is a hierarchy that illustrates perfect authority and submission. For instance, the Father has the role of planning and directing. At creation, everything comes into existence as a result of His command: "And God said..." God is the conductor of the symphony. The role of Jesus is that of being obedient to the Father and accomplishing His plan. God so loved that He "sent" His Son and Jesus fulfilled God's plan. The Holy Spirit's role is to obey the Father and the Son by applying the work of regeneration and empowering believers. If you read the Bible with this understanding, you will see these roles being carried out faithfully everywhere God is working.

The Shack rejects this structure for the Trinity. "So you think that God must relate inside a hierarchy like you do," Papa says. "But we do not." This is a typical viewpoint that the world has about authority and submission. It's frowned upon because sinful people misuse it. But perfect authority and submission is modeled in the Trinity. The divine mystery of God's nature is modeled in how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal in being, but subordinate in their roles.

Unfortunately, there are other disturbing issues in the Shack that go beyond the Trinity. You can make the case that it affirms goddess worship. And what about the Bible's command to not make any graven images? When you put human and earthly faces on God's nature, you have essentially broken that commandment. So my suggestion is that rather than get your Trinity training in The Shack, go to some other good books like Bible Doctrine by Wayne Grudem or Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by Bruce Ward. Leave The Shack in the fictional section of the book store and read with caution.