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Having sold upwards of ten million copies since making its debut in 2007, William P. Young ’s Christian-themed novel The Shack  has been one of the biggest publishing phenomena of the last decade. With figures like that, it was inevitable that a screen version would one day tap into that already-existing fanbase, while hopefully also tapping into audiences who had never picked up the book before. Though the end result may indeed satisfy fans of the book, newcomers might find themselves wondering what all the fuss is about as they watch this awkwardly-constructed work. "The Shack" wants to be a sincere exploration of faith and forgiveness but somehow manages to be both too innocuous and too off-putting for its own good.

Mack Phillips ( Sam Worthington ) has managed to overcome a rough childhood marked by the cruelties of a drunken and abusive father (Derek Hamilton). He now has a happy life with wife Nan ( Radha Mitchell ) and three kids, teenagers Kate ( Megan Charpentier ) and Josh ( Gage Munroe ), and adorable moppet Missy (Amelie Eve). That all comes crashing down when Mack takes the three kids on a camping trip—Nan stays behind to do work stuff—and Missy disappears after being left alone by Mack while he rescues his other kids from drowning in a canoeing mishap. It turns out that someone out there has been abducting and killing little girls, and although the police are able to track the suspect’s whereabouts to a remote, dilapidated shack, all that is found inside is some blood and Missy’s torn dress.

Time passes, but Mack is unable to get past the tragedy. It affects his relationships with the rest of his family, in a period described as “The Great Sadness.” One day, a mysterious note turns up in his mailbox asking him to come to that very same shack the next weekend and signed “Papa,” which just happens to be Nan’s pet nickname for God. When he gets there, he initially finds nothing, but, as he is getting ready to leave, the surroundings change from frigid nothingness to a lush, lovely environment and the shack is now a spiffy domicile housing a version of the Holy Trinity in which God—sorry, Papa—is an African-American woman ( Octavia Spencer ), Jesus ( Avraham Aviv Alush ) is a carpenter of Middle-Eastern descent and the Holy Spirit is represented as an Asian woman named Sarayu ( Sumire Matsubara ). Over the next three days, Mack opens up to the three of them in ways that allow him to mend his relationships with them, learn to forgive and gain some closure regarding Missy’s death.

Since its publication, “The Shack” has engendered a good deal of controversy within the Christian community for interpreting both the Bible and the Holy Trinity in ways that some consider to be heretical. Based on a viewing of the movie, I would label those charges to be nonsense; to be truly heretical would require a more cogent level of thinking than the awkward plotting and empty-headed New Agey koans offered up here. Granted, trying to put words into the mouth(s) of God would challenge even the finest writers, but couldn’t the ones assembled here have come up with something a little better than the banalities being presented here as eye-opening spiritual truths? As near as I can figure from the somewhat murky thinking on display, God is responsible for all the things that are good, pure and beautiful in the world but always seems to have an excuse when it comes to the uglier aspects of life. If one has the temerity to press this particular issue, as Mack understandably does, all he gets in return is a bunch of straw man arguments that pretend to answer his questions without actually doing so. Just as off-putting are the little things that are tossed in to make God seem more relatable to us, such as the moment where, out of nowhere, Papa reveals that she is a Neil Young fan. I would have forgiven this if it had led to Mack asking why she would allow that hideous album featuring all the songs about his car to exist.

For all of the pontificating on display, there is precious little in the way of a coherent narrative for anyone who does not already buy into "The Shack'"s way of thinking. Oh sure, there are plenty of plot details on display but the screenplay is more interested in just mentioning them than in really dealing with them. We are told about the estrangement Mack has with his family following Missy’s murder but aside from one very brief scene, we get no real sense of it. Possibly because to do any more might further underline the fact that it is the older daughter, who caused the canoe accident and is wracked with guilt over it, who should really be meeting with Papa and Co. instead of him. The film opens with a chronicle of a young Mack and his mother being beaten by his father that culminates with the suggestion that he straight-up murders the old man, only to never refer to it again; not only does Papa fail to bring it up during their conversations, his own dad, in spirit form, never mentions it while he is begging his son for forgiveness.

As “The Shack” plodded on (it clocks in at over two hours and makes you feel every one of those minutes), I found myself thinking more and more about “ Silence ,” the recent religious drama from Martin Scorsese that came and went through theaters a few weeks ago. Like “The Shack,” that film dealt with the kind of spiritual crisis that can develop when someone devotes their life to praying to a God that seems more interested in letting you suffer endlessly rather than answering those prayers. But "Silence" took its questions about spirituality and the nature of God seriously, resulting in a spellbinding film that even those without any sort of strong religious background might still find thought-provoking. “The Shack,” on the other hand, is little more than pabulum that invokes all the right words but fails to invest them with any kind of meaning that might allow it to mean something to those not already pre-disposed to liking it. Of course, thanks to the book's extensive fanbase, there is an excellent chance that "The Shack" will make more money in its first weekend than “Silence” did in its entire run—a thought depressing enough to inspire spiritual crises in any number of moviegoers.

Peter Sobczynski

A moderately insightful critic, full-on Swiftie and all-around  bon vivant , Peter Sobczynski, in addition to his work at this site, is also a contributor to The Spool and can be heard weekly discussing new Blu-Ray releases on the Movie Madness podcast on the Now Playing network.

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Film Credits

The Shack (2017)

Rated PG-13 for thematic material including some violence.

132 minutes

Sam Worthington as Mac Phillips

Radha Mitchell as Nan

Octavia Spencer as Papa / Elouisa

Avraham Aviv Alush as Jesus

Sumire Matsubara as Sarayu

Graham Greene as Male Papa

Gage Munroe as Jose Phillips

Tim McGraw as Willie

Megan Charpentier as Kate Phillips

• Stuart Hazeldine

Writer (based on the book by)

• William P. Young

Writer (based on the book by) (in collaboration with)

• Wayne Jacobsen
• Brad Cummings
• Andrew Lanham
• Destin Cretton

Cinematographer

• Declan Quinn
• William Steinkamp
• Aaron Zigman

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Review: A Crisis of Faith and a Trip to God’s B&B in ‘The Shack’

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By Neil Genzlinger

• March 2, 2017

First things first: “The Shack,” a Christian-themed movie with laudable ambitions, will resonate with lots of people who feel Hollywood does not generally understand or care about their world. That said, a bit more editing to remove some of the airiness would have made for a better film.

The movie, based on William P. Young’s best seller and directed by Stuart Hazeldine, is about the spiritual journey of Mack (Sam Worthington), whose youngest child is abducted and murdered while he is watching over her and her two siblings on a camping trip.

Mack wallows in grief and survivor’s guilt, as well as anger, much of which is directed at God. Then a mysterious note from Papa — his wife’s pet name for the Almighty — invites him to revisit the remote shack where the police believe his child was killed. There he meets the divine trinity of some Christian faiths: Papa ( Octavia Spencer ), his son (Avraham Aviv Alush) and the Holy Spirit (Sumire).

Many faith-based films settle for a Jesus-loves-me climax without digging far into theological matters. This one at least asks the difficult questions. It’s at its best when Mack is grilling Papa on matters like why she allows children to be murdered.

“Stop talking in riddles,” he admonishes her after yet another vague answer.

She never really does. Not to be sacrilegious, but as a film character, Papa doesn’t have a lot of depth; for much of the movie it’s as if Mack has stumbled into a very nice bed-and-breakfast and God is the universe’s most benevolent innkeeper.

And so as the film passes the two-hour mark, it begins to feel as if it’s treading water. People of faith already know that there are no cut-and-dried answers to the kinds of questions Mack is asking. The intended audience here, though, will at least come away with plenty of fodder for postviewing discussion groups.

Not rated. Running time: 2 hours 12 minutes.

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Film Review: ‘The Shack’

Octavia Spencer gets to play God in a faith-based drama about a suffering man's weekend encounter session with the Holy Trinity.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

Chief Film Critic

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In most faith-based movie drama, God is a presence — that’s sort of the whole point — but He’s a barely visible, off-center one. He’s a character who influences events, but that doesn’t mean we see a man in a robe and a white beard. In “ The Shack ,” though, we really do — or, more precisely, we see Octavia Spencer , aglow with impish insight and beatific grins, as if she was on hand to give a message to Morgan Freeman: There’s a new God in town . Some members of the American Evangelical community are already up in arms over the portrayal, for reasons that are pretending not to be racist. But there’s no defense of their attack: To have any human actor portray God — Freeman, Charlton Heston, Whoopi Goldberg, George Burns — is, by definition, to present a metaphor for the undepictable. So why not Octavia Spencer?

“The Shack,” based on the self-published 2007 blockbuster Christian novel by Canadian author William P. Young, tells the story of a reverential and robust family man, Mack Phillips ( Sam Worthington ), who suffers an unendurable tragedy. On a camping trip with his three children, he plunges into the lake to rescue his son from drowning — and though he saves him, during those crucial moments, when everyone on the camp grounds is gathered around, Mack’s youngest daughter, Missy (Amélie Eve), disappears. It turns out that she’s been abducted by a man the police have been hunting for five years, and before long evidence turns up that she’s been murdered.

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The site of the atrocity is a shack in the woods that looks like a cross between the “Amityville” house and some sordid cabin out of “Friday the 13th.” For a while, “The Shack” looks like it’s going to be a queasy piece of Christian disaster porn. It is, sort of, but it’s really a Hallmark-card therapy session, a kind of woodland weekend-retreat self-actualization seminar hosted by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Who come off, in this case, like the featured celebrity guests on a very special episode of “Oprah.”

Mack is no stranger to pain (his father was such a mean drunk that, as a 13-year-old boy, Mack poisoned him), yet he has never lost his faith. His daughter — the one who was killed — grew up calling God by the nickname “Papa.” So Mack is somewhere between skepticism and awe when he pulls a letter out of the mailbox that’s been delivered with no apparent footprints in the snow. (Almost as miraculously, it was written on a typewriter from the ’70s.) The note says that it’s been a while, and that he should drop by the shack. It’s signed “Papa.”

He drops by the shack, which looks like a wintry frozen death scene, but then, just when he’s on the verge of giving up hope, along comes Jesus (Avraham Aviv Alush) — or, as he comes off in this movie, a really friendly down-to-earth 2017 dude in stylish cropped curls . The snow suddenly — literally — melts away, as Mack is led to the shack: a summery refurbished version, like the bed-and-breakfast of your dreams. (Thou shalt not commit tasteless rustic décor.) It’s here that he meets the deity formerly known as Papa, played by Spencer as an endlessly benevolent matriarch of the universe who bakes biscuits and listens to reggae on her iPod, and whose attention is focused entirely on Mack, even though she’s got a lot on her plate (and I don’t just mean the exquisite breakfasts she presides over). She wants to help Mack heal. But to do that, he’s going to have to leave aside his agony and his anger. He’s going to have to forgive.

The strangest thing about “The Shack,” and the reason it’s finally a so-so movie, is that all the rage and terror and dark-side vengeance that Mack has to learn to transcend is something we’re told about, but we never actually see him mired in it. Sam Worthington, frankly, doesn’t seem like the sort of actor who gives good death wish anyway. He’s a wholesome hunk of earnestness, with no curlicues of anything offbeat. That’s why his movie stardom never worked out, and why he now seems all too right to play the hero of a cautious and soft-edged and squarely photographed bare-bones Christian psychodrama. Evangelicals, of course, are as complicated as anyone else — but unless they’re being portrayed by Robert Duvall, they rarely come off that way in commercial faith-based cinema. They’re like the grown-up heroes of Sunday-school fables.

And that’s just what “The Shack” is: a close encounter with God that’s like an instruction manual for those who prefer their faith mixed with sentimental teardrops. There’s an image of conservative Christianity as living on the opposite shore from Freudian therapy, but “The Shack” demonstrates how the two have merged. Mack must take a journey into the past to heal his demons, and to forgive the original sinner: his father. And he does it with the support of his new trio of counselor peeps: Jesus, the Messiah-as-mensch who teaches him how to walk on water (the movie’s one token supernatural touch); Sarayu, the Holy Ghost, played by the Japanese actress and model Sumira, who seems to be on hand mostly to round out the ethnicity of the cast; and Spencer’s Papa/God, who’s so jolly and benign that she makes the embrace of faith seem like sunshine and lollipops. The movie’s message is, “Have no fear! God truly is right here with you.” All that’s missing is a weekend spa treatment.

“The Shack” has a real chance to connect commercially, because even though its drama is mushy, at heart it’s a bit of a theme-park ride: the movie in which you get to know what it’s like to hang out with God and make friends with Jesus. In life, religion isn’t nearly so reassuring. It’s daunting, and our culture is starved for films that portray religious feeling in a way that’s both reverent and truthful. “The Shack” isn’t one of them; it reduces faith to a kind of spiritual comfort food. But thanks, in part, to movies like this one, maybe that’s what faith is on its way to becoming.

Reviewed at Magno, New York, February 28, 2017. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 132 MIN.

• Production: A Summit Entertainment release of a Gil Netter, Windblown Media production. Producers: Gil Netter, Brad Cummings. Executive producer: Mike Drake.
• Crew: Director: Stuart Hazeldine. Screenplay: John Fusco, Andrew Lanham, Destin Cretton. Camera (color, widescreen): Declan Quinn. Editor: William Steinkamp.  
• With: Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, Avraham Aviv Alush, Radha Mitchell, Alice Braga, Graham Greene, Tim McGraw, Sumire, Amélie Eve, Megan Charpentier, Gage Munroe.

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• DVD & Streaming

Content Caution

In Theaters

• March 3, 2017
• Sam Worthington as Mack Phillips; Octavia Spencer as Papa; Radha Mitchell as Nan Phillips; Megan Charpentier as Kate Phillips; Gage Munroe as Josh Phillips; Amélie Eve as Missy Phillips; Tim McGraw as Willie; Avraham Aviv Alush as Jesus; Sumire Matsubara as Sarayu; Alice Braga as Sophia; Graham Greene as Male Papa

Home Release Date

• May 30, 2017
• Stuart Hazeldine

Distributor

Movie review.

Mackenzie “Mack” Phillips is a normal guy. He’s married, has three children and lives in a middle-class house in the suburbs. He’s a devoted husband and a caring dad. What’s more, he’s a churchgoing man.

Now, Mack would be the first to tell you that his relationship with God is nowhere close to that of his wife, Nan’s. She has something special going with God that he can’t relate to. She calls Him Papa instead of God, for starters. And it’s not just Nan’s name for the Almighty that’s unusually intimate. She also talks “to God like an old friend.”

As for Mack, well, his relationship with God is decidedly more distant. Still, he occupies a pew on Sundays even if he doesn’t participate much. That oughta count for something, right? And his best friend, Willie, is a faithful follower of Christ, one who has a knack for helping Mack stay in the fight when he’s struggling spiritually.

For all that, though, Mack’s not really a “normal” guy at all, however we might understand that term. He’s got baggage. Lots of baggage.

Mack struggles with memories of his drunk, abusive father beating his mother. When Mack responds to an altar call at church one day as a youth, it’s not to accept Christ, but to tell the pastor how his father beats his mother. That revelation, however, leads to Mack’s dad tying him to a tree, brutally whipping him, and leaving him in a storm all night.

No wonder Mack’s got some father issues he’s still working through. Then comes the tragedy that rocks Mack’s world as an adult.

Mack and his kids are going camping. Nothing unusual about that. Just s’mores, campfire songs and a little canoeing. Until, that is, the two oldest Phillips children, Kate and Josh, have a life-threatening boating accident. And in those few precious minutes of rescue and resuscitation, the unthinkable happens: Mack and Nan’s youngest daughter, Missy, is abducted. Eventually, authorities find Missy’s blood-stained dress at a shack in the vicinity.

But they never find their littlest girl. And so the four remaining members of the Phillips family begin their grieving.

Then one winter day sometime later, Mack discovers an envelope in his mailbox. Strangely, there are no tracks leading to it through the snow. Stranger still is the message inside, inviting Mack to come up to “the shack” where Missy was killed, signed “Papa.”

Whose sick joke is this? Mack wonders. He tries to pin it on Willie, but his friend denies he had anything to do with it. But Willie is willing to go with his friend to the cabin. In fact, they can even use his four-wheel drive to bust through the drifts. And so, Willie faithfully shows up, his Bronco loaded with supplies.

But Mack has another idea: He’s going to the shack alone to solve this mystery—and perhaps deal with his debilitating guilt and his shipwrecked faith—once and for all.

Positive Elements

The Shack is about one man’s redemption, on a number of different levels: spiritual (more on that below), relational and familial. There’s not a single relationship in Mack’s life that’s not deeply impacted by what transpires when he reaches the shack.

After Missy’s abduction and murder, Mack retreats within to deal with the pain. But his wife lovingly, bravely confronts his self-focus, saying, “Don’t forget we love each other.” It’s a statement that underscores the importance of a husband and wife maintaining loving communication when going through difficult times.

After Mack’s encounter with God at the shack, he learns that Kate feels responsible for her sister’s kidnapping. Mack and Kate ultimately mourn together, with father reassuring daughter that she’s not to blame for what happened to her sister.

Spiritual Elements

Although it’s winter at the shack at first, eventually the season turns to summer. The snow is gone. Flowers bloom. Birds sing. And a cabin in this supernatural setting seems to be calling Mack’s name.

The cabin is tidy, fresh, warm and cozy. And it’s there Mack encounters the Trinity in human form. Papa (God) appears in the form of a middle-aged black woman. Papa tells Mack that the appearance is because the wounded man isn’t ready to deal with a fatherly God just yet, given what Mack endured with his earthly dad. (Later God appears as a male Inuit when Papa feels he might need more of a Father for a difficult task.)

Jesus, for His part, looks like a young Jewish man with a big beard and a bigger smile. He uses His carpentry skills to build something important for Mack’s healing. The Holy Spirit, meanwhile, who’s called Sarayu , appears as a tall, slender Asian female.

And thus begins Mack’s fantastical spiritual journey, with the members of the Trinity playing different roles in helping Mack process his grief, his doubt, his rage, his shaken faith. (Of course, some viewers will have concerns about the human, and also female, representations of the Trinity, pointing to the Second Commandment’s prohibition against making any image of God.)

Papa tells Mack, “It’s here you got stuck”—referring to his daughter’s death. And God is intent on getting Mack un stuck. Mack’s dialogue with Papa revolves around perennial questions of the faith: How can a benevolent God allow evil? Does God abandon His people in times of need? Should evildoers be forgiven? Should a man be judge and jury of those who have wronged him? Does God orchestrate tragedy? Does forgiveness of a great wrong happen instantly, or does it often occur over time?

Elsewhere, Jesus has Mack first walking, then running, on water. Jesus reminds Mack, as He did with Peter, to keep his eyes on Him. Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit takes Mack to a rather unruly patch of garden. Although it’s beautiful to a point, this tangled collection of colorful plants needs pruning, tending and shaping. She tells Mack that the garden “is you.”

An entity who describes herself as Wisdom (referenced metaphorically in Proverbs as a woman) gives Mack a chance to see that Missy is alive in a heavenly place where Jesus dwells. This realization gives him the strength to move to his next challenges, both involving forgiveness. The first involves a reunion with his departed father, who apologizes for his treatment of Mack on earth. Later, Mack is invited to forgive his daughter’s killer.

Mack also finds a Gideon Bible. And it’s clear that Scripture is treated as the source of truth and revelation.

With so much theological ground covered in this film, it’s not surprising there are a few missteps. For instance, God’s loving, forgiving nature is emphasized and reemphasized. And that emphasis on God’s immanence —his intimate nearness, as theologians define that term—isn’t counterbalanced by that other aspect of God’s character as revealed in Scripture: His transcendence , a word that encompasses His holiness, and the fact that He is wholly other from His creation. Admittedly, it’s a difficult paradox to get our finite human heads around; but it’s a paradox that Scripture nonetheless gives us.

When Mack asks Papa whether those who sin will be punished, Papa replies, “Sin is its own punishment.” That response tends to psychologize sin and minimizes the reality that those who die without a relationship with Christ will face judgment and hell for their sinful choices, according to Scripture. So the film emphasizes God’s love and grace without dealing with the paradoxical reality of His holiness and wrath, the latter word being used 95 times in the New and Old Testaments. (Mack says at one point that he wishes his daughter’s killer would go to hell, but the film never really delves into why someone could or would end up in that place.)

Another theologically problematic moment comes when Papa tells Mack that He did not abandon Jesus on the cross, despite the fact that Jesus Himself said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Papa’s statement in the film fails to recognize that Jesus not only carried mankind’s sin, but, according to 2 Corinthians 5:21, Jesus actually became sin. Because God the Father is holy, when Jesus took on humanity’s sin at Calvary, the Father did forsake Christ (until redemption was accomplished soon thereafter).

Before his encounter with God, Mack tells his children (mostly his youngest daughter) a legend-like story of an Indian princess who jumped off a cliff to save her people. In it, Mack refers to God as the “Great Spirit.” That prompts Missy to ask, “Jesus dying is a legend?” to which dad replies, “It’s in the Bible, it must be true” even though he may not really believe that … yet. The daughter goes on to ask, “Is God mean?” explaining that her question is based upon the fact that “He asked Jesus to die.”

In addition to those two acknowledgments of Christ’s death, Papa’s wrists bear the scars of crucifixion. The Holy Spirit also bears similar wrist scars. Although perhaps it’s meant to show how the Father and Spirit identified with the Son’s torturous death, it could lead some filmgoers to incorrectly believe that the Father (and Spirit?) died when only Jesus, in fact, did.

Despite those theological missteps, however, there’s no doubt here that God: • Loves people, even deeply flawed people who aren’t yet in a relationship with Him; • Is Trinitarian by nature; • Is sovereign and cares deeply for those who’ve gone through severe tragedies; • Does not abandon His loved ones during difficult times; • Desires reconciliation with those who don’t know Him; • Offers hope even in the most hopeless of situations; • Offers forgiveness that can change a human heart; • Knows the future; • Is good (Papa tells Mack, “Your big [problem] is you don’t think I’m good”); • Is omnipresent; • And can do “incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies.”

By the time the credits roll, Mack is a different person. His encounter with God has changed him and birthed real faith in God.

Sexual Content

None, though there’s the strong suggestion of a sexual assault of a young girl.

Violent Content

The story revolves around young Missy’s abduction, murder and presumed sexual assault. (Near film’s end, we see the young girl’s body being placed in a casket.)

In a moment of desperation, Mack points a revolver at his head before he’s (providentially) interrupted by a noisy deer. It’s also implied that Mack, as a teen, poisoned his father (killing him) before running away from home, a choice that’s haunted Mack his entire life.

Elsewhere, Mack hits his head; there’s a capsized canoe (and a moment of peril for Mack’s middle daughter); a car crashes (mostly off-camera).

Crude or Profane Language

Mack says, “Oh, my God,” only to apologize the Trinity.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Mack’s father is an abusive drunk, something the film depicts as evil and immoral, and yet also forgivable.

Other Negative Elements

There’s never any suggestion that Mack plans to turn himself in to the authorities for poisoning his father as boy. He also lies to his wife and steals his friend’s truck (albeit only temporarily, of course).

Papa enjoys listening to songs by Neil Young and never offers any caveats for such troubling tunes as “Down by the River” (which involves a confession by a man that he apparently murdered his girlfriend: “I shot my baby/Down by the river/Dead, oh, shot her dead”).

Like the book it’s based upon, this cinematic story about a grieving man encountering God is almost certain to stir up controversy among Christians. Focus on the Family’s website Boundless published a review of the book in 2008 that illustrated how believers were responding quite differently to the story:

“Where Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver says [the book] ‘has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim Progress did for his,’ Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary says, ‘This book includes undiluted heresy.’ [And] singer songwriter Michael W. Smith says ‘ The Shack will leave you craving for the presence of God.'”

Whether Peterson, Mohler and Smith will take similar views about the film remains to be seen. But there’s no doubt that mature believers on both sides of the aisle will have different perspectives regarding the theological merits and flaws of this film. Some will see its missteps as reason to steer clear. Others will see the things it gets right as an opportunity to challenge nonbelievers’ understanding about who God is. Still others, especially those who’ve grown up spiritually in harsh or legalistic environments, may be invited to view God in a more healing way—just as happened to Mack himself.

All that said, this film has a lot going for it. A man who loses one of his children understandably questions where God was during that tragedy. It’s a question that has been asked since the beginning of time. It’s the reason behind the book of Job. And yet, as in Job, the answer is more, “I am God; trust in me,” rather than, “I am God; I owe you an explanation.” What filmgoers do get is that God cares. He loves deeply and unconditionally. He wants to heal our woundedness. And He can do so when we let Him.

And who is this God according to The Shack? First, who He’s not: He’s not a cosmic force devoid of personality or power. He’s not a galactic killjoy who smirks when we feel pain. He’s not just our conscience either. No, in The Shack , God is the great “I Am” (actually stated in the film). He’s Trinitarian in nature (a hard concept to grasp and teach verbally, in print or on film). The second person of that Trinity was (and is) fully God and fully man. He can walk on water and controls the elements. The Holy Spirit sees our messy “garden” of a life and wants to bring order from the chaos.

The Shack delivers significant messages about God in a world desperately looking and longing for answers. Does this story provoke valid, even significant theological concerns? Clearly, it does. But just as Mack was led in the film to discover more about God in his Gideon Bible, hopefully movie goers will respond the same way to the big-screen adaptation of The Shack .

Bob Waliszewski

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The Shack Reviews

Essentially a parable at its core, like the book, the film challenges traditional Christian viewpoints, notably in the visual interpretation of God.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 30, 2019

The Shack is as graceless as its monosyllabic title.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Oct 5, 2019

The Shack is far from profound or thought provoking, but it's not as harmful or hurtful to outsiders as most doctrinally centered films tend to be.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 20, 2018

The Shack isn't going to change any minds or bring the unfaithful closer to God, but it'll preach to the choir in its sappy, inoffensive manner.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 31, 2018

A joyless cheesy Christian faith -based drama that might not even appeal to mice.

Full Review | Original Score: D | Aug 23, 2018

Playing like an afternoon TV movie made by a God channel, this has to be the strangest film of the year.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Aug 23, 2018

Here is a new propaganda exhibition of pseudo-Christian cinema... [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Oct 6, 2017

... it seems that we are facing a perfect symptom of that supermarket spirituality that already has a large supply in the publishing market.

Full Review | Oct 6, 2017

The Shack does address the questions of a grieving and bitter father in need of healing through its theological references.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Sep 20, 2017

Perhaps there are Christians who will appreciate The Shack's Oprahfied universal heaven, wherein no bad deed goes punished. But it made us pine for the Book of Job God to spitefully hurl leviathans and behemoths.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 28, 2017

The film deals in starkly spiritual terms with the issues of loss, hatred and forgiveness, and raises a lot of common questions about who's side God is on...In a brave performance, Worthington brings a salty edge to his character.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jun 27, 2017

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jun 12, 2017

A few of the discussions are quite knotty, but the whole thing is still too steeped in American mawkishness to have a chance with anyone unpersuaded by that form of worship.

Making a sincere film about religious faith is a tricky thing to pull off. And this folksy dose of misguided manipulation demonstrates many of the common pitfalls.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jun 11, 2017

Touchy-feely New Age therapy runs headlong into evangelical Christianity in The Shack.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 9, 2017

To approach spirituality on screen and maintain a sense of enchantment is a hurdle many a filmmaker have fallen over - and it's one that Stuart Hazeldine has struggled with.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jun 9, 2017

This is more of a sermon than a movie, so its appeal will very much depend on where you stand on that kind of thing.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 8, 2017

It's a film that asks the right questions, but the answers aren't really dramatically persuasive.

Good intentions, but far too earnest to appeal to anyone beyond those who believe you can fight a true crisis of the soul with a campfire and some Kumbaya.

Despite the coolest deity casting since Dogma's Alanis Morrisette, this faith-based fantasy won't win over many non-believers or cinematic admirers.

THE SHACK: A Spiritual Journey Sparking Controversy

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From Stuart Hazeldine , a director with very few credits to his name,  The Shack has provided a positive breakthrough in the consortium of films that involve a strong presence of faith. But whilst audiences are able to relish in the spiritual and uplifting undertones of the story, it has somewhat proven to be a bit of a controversial storm amongst its critics.

Based on the New York Times best-selling novel, The Shack takes us on a mourning father’s tragic yet inspirational journey. After suffering a family tragedy, Mackenzie ‘Mack’ Phillips ( Sam Worthington ) spirals into a deep depression; causing him to question his inner beliefs.

Facing a crisis of faith, he receives a mysterious letter urging him to make his way to an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Despite his doubts, Mack makes the journey, and encounters an enigmatic trio of strangers symbolising the Holy Trinity, led by a woman named Papa ( Octavia Spencer ). Through this meeting, Mack finds important truths that will transform his understanding of the tragedy he’s experienced and change his way of thinking; ultimately altering his life forever.

Enlightening Or Dispiriting?

On one hand, we can look upon The Shack as a guide to understanding forgiveness and helping to process our grievances in a healthy way. This is undoubtedly the intention William P. Young had when he authored the novel back in 2007. To an extent, this is a believable mantra throughout the narrative of the movie, because of the impeccable acting from Spencer and Worthington . Their talents on-screen are undeniable, and the chemistry between the majority of the characters is very effective.

On the other hand, it’s been suggested that the film comes across as rather offensive and due to this, has sparked up a lot of debate with its audiences.

There appears to be a crossover between what is acceptable and what isn’t when it comes to the symbolisation of faith on the big screen. When Mack meets the three individuals, he immediately assumes that they represent the Trinity, but is surprised when he asks for God and all three of the gracious figures answer him. This reignited the controversy behind the theology of modalism, which says that God is one individual, presenting itself in three different ways – but is ultimately still one person.

Another argument that has circled around since before the film was even planned to be released, is the question of whether or not God really should be addressed as female. Although Papa is different from the way God is biblically characterised in gender, she still holds all the other necessary ideologies required to represent and embody this character. Papa is still compassionate, loving, peaceful and fully invested in Mack’s wellbeing. Which – for many – is where the frustration lies, but for others, is a delightful quality to the overall perception of the movie.

The book’s original publisher, Wayne Jacobsen, has recently explained that the decision to see God as a woman – and perhaps more importantly, as non-white – was to show that God can reveal himself and work through anyone.

However, the plot thickens further when we look at it from a heavily religious perspective. It could be argued that the film is too much of an emotional anchor, and that the use of a black woman as God is primarily designed to shut down any predicted opposition. Given that Papa is represented as a minority and as a woman, it could allow for claims of racism and sexism to anyone who objects or opposes to the unique theology.

But then why should God be so one-dimensional?  The Shack paves the way for anyone of any faith and of their own beliefs to evaluate their own individual outlook, which provides leverage for all audiences to make a distinctive connection to the story and its characters.

A Raw Sentiment

Hazeldine , whose only previous feature is the 2009 psychological thriller Exam , chooses to take the route of stripped-back cinematography and eased paces from beginning to end. Visually, Mack’s sacred encounters in the deserted setting are pretty, especially the colourful diagrammatic of the surrounding gardens which are key to epitomise the tranquility of the setting. However, the visuals are still never particularly soul-stirring or enthralling. Even with esteemed cinematographer Declan Quinn on hand, crucial transitions seem to be rather lost, and the understated dramatic power of the real, natural setting seems wasted.

The benefit of this, however, is being able to focus more on the raw emotion and sentiment of the underlined story beyond special effects and clichéd gimmicks. This is essentially a journey of a character who has experienced a most tragic experience and needs healing in more ways than one. So whilst this makes for quite a distressing viewing, it is needed to create an authentic and convincing impact.

It’s clear that Hazeldine and his design crew wanted to shoot these supernatural encounters in a relatable light, which is an approach that’s echoed even in the screenplay and the dialogue.

Final Thoughts

The Shack  successfully manages to challenge the narrow conceptions of what a Christian looks or sounds like – hence all of the debate and controversy. But it’s not necessarily the film’s ideas that are its problem, but the realness with which they’re explored.

It’s understandable to see why Christians may be up in arms at this portrayal of faith, because it’s one of the only instances where religious figures have been presented as physical beings and in this case, are depicted a bit like the featured celebrity guests of a talk show.

But The Shack also has a good chance of connecting commercially, because even though its drama is rather mushy, it’s a bit like a dream, whereas in real life, religion isn’t nearly as reassuring. Our current culture is starved for films that portray religious feelings in a way that’s relatable, and  The Shack  certainly does this. In some ways, it reduces faith to a kind of spiritual comfort food.

But maybe that’s what faith is on its way to becoming – and is that such a bad thing? How can we compare our own view of faith to someone else’s? In this instance it’s solely Mack’s experience – so who are we to judge?

Do you think The Shack succeeds at providing us with a religiously healing escape, or do you agree with the critics?

The Shack opened in the U.S. on March 3. The film will see release in the U.K. on June 9.

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The Shack review – a wet weekend at Christian Disneyland

This unsubtle, pedagogic faith-driven drama could have been crazily brilliant but is swamped by bad writing, cardboard characters and infantile theology

N ot really a film. More an instructional video designed to be shown to teens at a Christian summer camp and earnestly discussed afterwards with a T-shirt-wearing group leader whose smiley tolerance for dissent is finite. (I incidentally imagine him resembling the church-going best buddy of the film’s hero.)

The Shack is based on a self-published Christian bestseller from 2007 by Canadian author William P Young : literal, righteously pedagogic and unsubtle – with some truly silly stuff about walking on water. Sam Worthington plays Mack, a Christian husband and father who is haunted by memories of a drunken, abusive dad whom he murdered as a kid by slipping strychnine (huge flashback closeup on the clearly labelled bottle) into his whisky. Did the police not, erm, suspect anything? Evidently not. Anyway, as a grownup he takes his family on a lakeside vacation where something terrible happens to his young daughter in a shack at the hands of a psycho killer. The cops seem as useless at detecting the culprit as they were in the days when Mack was bumping off his dad. In the depths of despair, he receives a mysterious summons to spend a redemptive crisis/visionary weekend in this very shack as the guest of God the father (Octavia Spencer), God the son (Avraham Aviv Alush) and God the Holy Spirit (Sumire Matsubara) and they all have the same kindly, enigmatic smile that in any other sort of film would mean they were playing Satan. (The Evil One is not represented.)

The Trinity talk Mack through his issues, including his judgmental rage at his daughter’s killer: a figure denoting Wisdom has a bizarre and illogical scene challenging Mack to a make a Sophie’s Choice decision about which of his surviving kids he would wish to send to hell. Huh?

The film could have been just crazy enough to be brilliant, but it winds up looking like a wet weekend at Christian Disneyland. Some potentially interesting material about forgiveness is swamped by the bad writing, cardboard characterisation and intelligence-insulting kiddiespeak theology.

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Movie review: ‘The Shack’

(Rated PG [Canada] PG-13 [MPAA] for thematic material, including some violence; directed by Stuart Hazeldine; stars Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, Tim McGraw, Radha Mitchell, Megan Charpentier, Gage Munroe, Amélie Eve, Avraham Aviv Alush, Sumire Matsubara, Graham Greene and Derek Hamilton; run time: 132 min.)

Is going to ‘The Shack’ worth the trip?

By Ted Giese

Occasionally a product hits the market after interest has peaked and people have moved on. Stuart Hazeldine’s film adaption of the popular 2007 fictional book The Shack, by Canadian author William P. Young, may be this kind of product.

And why would that be? For those who followed the story of William P. Young and his book, it will come as no surprise that The Shack has come under legitimate theological fire. This is not unwarranted and the film does nothing to change the significant problems.

The Shack is the story of a man, Mackenzie (Sam Worthington), grieving the loss of his kidnapped and murdered youngest daughter, Missy (Amélie Eve), while on a family camping trip. Although investigators found the crime scene, the girl’s body was never recovered.

In his time of great sadness over his daughter’s death, Mackenzie receives a note in his mailbox inviting him to make a weekend visit to the shack where Missy was murdered. The note is signed “Papa” — his wife, Nan’s (Radha Mitchell), nickname for God.

Could it really be God? Might it be the murderer trying to lure Mackenzie to the scene of the crime? Is it just a sick joke?

Despite a snowstorm, Mackenzie “borrows” his neighbor’s (Tim McGraw) truck and drives to the shack. Initially he finds nothing there except traces of his daughter’s murder, which leaves him distraught.

After almost attempting suicide, he has an unorthodox interaction with God. What follows is personal grief counseling from God as Mackenzie deals with his daughter’s death, the problem of evil and his own troubled childhood which includes abuse from his father (Derek Hamilton).

This all happens in a sort of bubble, where the ramshackle, snow-covered shack is transformed into a summertime paradise, complete with an idyllic lake, down comforters and home-cooked meals served by God.

Depicting God in movies is not new. In 1977, comedian George Burns played God in “Oh, God!,” and more recently Morgan Freeman has portrayed God in “Bruce Almighty” (2003) and “Evan Almighty” (2007).

In those films, God is largely played for laughs, but how does “The Shack” depict God and is it a faithful depiction of the Holy Trinity? (Films like “Oh, God!” don’t even tackle the mystery of the Trinity!)

What viewers receive in “The Shack” is not the Holy Trinity of Scripture: “One God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance” as confessed by Christians in the Athanasian Creed.

Neither does “The Shack” adequately present the incarnation of Christ as found in the Apostles’ Creed, where Jesus is confessed by Christians to be “conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary” and therefore, because of His incarnation, is distinctly different from God the Father and Holy Spirit.

It’s not enough to have an ethnically accurate, walking-on-water, wood-working Jesus (Avraham Aviv Alush). If God the Father and the Holy Spirit are depicted incorrectly, it impacts the Incarnation, and when the presentation of the Incarnation is wrong, more trouble follows.

In the book and film, Mackenzie interacts with a physical representation of God the Father — a wise/wisecracking black woman happy to be called Papa (Octavia Spencer). He likewise interacts with a sensitive Asian woman and gardener, Sarayu, who is intended to be the Holy Spirit (Sumire Matsubara).

These women are overly affectionate and emotional. Along with Jesus, they are fixated on “relationship” over and against anything resembling religion; Jesus claims to be disinterested in people being Christian at all.

The Jesus of “The Shack” is only interested in people having a relationship with Papa and that relationship is of a certain kind: a sort of endearing, intimate relationship often talked about in Pop American Christianity — short on reverence or awe, and capitalizing on society’s emphasis on intimacy in all relationships.

If a discerning Christian compares the intimate relationship Mackenzie has with God in “The Shack” to the rather impersonal relationship Job has with God in the Scriptural account of Job’s tragic suffering, the difference quickly appears.

In Scripture, God’s love for all people doesn’t require touchy-feely sentimentality. Ultimately, it requires Christ’s willing sacrificial death in the place of the sinner for the atonement of sin, which brings reconciliation between God and humanity. In the Bible, this is the purpose of Jesus’ incarnation and birth, the reason the Word became flesh.

The physical portrayal of God the Father and the Holy Spirit as women muddies what Scripture faithfully teaches about Jesus. But the problem is deeper than author Young’s desire to overturn the predominate expressions of God in Scripture.

Papa claims she appears to Mackenzie as a woman because of his poor relationship with his earthly father who beat him as a child. Later, Papa reappears as a Native American man (Graham Greene) because Mackenzie needed Papa to be a man when he’s led to his daughter’s missing body.

Since “The Shack’s” God changes forms, changes masks, to suit the situation at hand, an ancient challenge to the doctrine of the Trinity presents itself: the 3 rd century heresy called modalism in which there are three different “modes” of God rather than three distinct persons. This false teaching becomes abundantly clear in a conversation Mackenzie has with Papa, where he accuses God of being bad at sticking close to people in their time of greatest need.

When Mackenzie points out that, at the cross, Jesus asked, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?,” Papa responds, “You misunderstand the mystery.” Papa then shows him nail wounds from the Crucifixion, saying that she (God the Father) never left Jesus at the cross and that they were “there together,” and that it cost them “both dearly.”

Sarayu, the Holy Spirit character, is later seen with the same Crucifixion wounds. This sort of clever exaggeration of the oneness of God is modalism.

While “The Shack” is trying to show how much God cares for Mackenzie’s suffering, the film undermines the Incarnation, which is how Scripture teaches us that God cares about human suffering by becoming one of us.

“The Shack,” in the most visual way possible, implies strongly that Mackenzie is not interacting with a God who is three distinct persons, equal in glory, and coeternal in majesty within the Godhead, where only Christ, because of His Incarnation, keeps the wounds of His Crucifixion as emblems of His sacrifice (John 20:19-31).

Why is this important? Students of Luther’s Small Catechism will recall a section called “Christian Questions with Their Answers.” It’s a series of questions prepared by Dr. Luther for those who intend to go to the Sacrament of the Altar.

Question 8 asks: “How many Gods are there?” The answer is: “Only one, but there are three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

Question 9 asks: “What has Christ done for you that you trust in Him?” The answer is: “He died for me and shed His blood for me on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.”

Then question 10, a very important question as it pertains to this part of the film, asks: “Did the Father also die for you?” The answer is: “He did not. The Father is God only, as is the Holy Spirit; but the Son is both true God and true man. He died for me and shed His blood for me.”

As soon as Papa shows wounds from the Crucifixion, “The Shack” fails to be a Christian story and embraces the ancient heresy of modalism, an unfaithful depiction of the Holy Trinity and, by extension, a denial of the incarnation of Christ Jesus as taught in Scripture. The god of “The Shack” is not the Christian God of Scripture.

Space does not permit delving into many of the film’s other theological problems, but this gets to the heart of the problem. This is not a Christian film: It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, wrapped in wholesome family values and with a high regard for marriage and parenthood.

Mackenzie’s interactions with the god of the “The Shack” are permeated with the sort of moralistic, therapeutic deism that passes as Christianity for many people. It’s a system of belief which stresses that God simply wants people to be good and nice to each other in the way most world religions and the Bible are presumed to teach, and that the main goal of life is to be happy and feel good about oneself, free of unresolved problems.

The whole film becomes a sleight-of-hand that pays lip service to grief and suffering while emptying the cross of Jesus’ true sacrifice for sin, sidestepping the promise of the Resurrection and the believer’s hope that rests in Christ alone.

Be careful, the story is confused and disjointed, mixing truth and falsehood. Even as a work of fiction it is not worth defending.

Yet some might ask, “Can’t terrible stories make for good films?”

The answer? “The Shack” is not a good film. It’s B-grade at best, with an unsatisfactory ending.

Spoiler Alert! While heading home from his weekend in the shack, Mackenzie ends up in an accident, totaling his neighbor’s truck. The accident puts Mackenzie in the hospital. There he’s told the accident happened on his way to the shack and that he spent the whole weekend in the hospital.

Did any of his divine interactions really happen? Was it all a dream? Did Papa lead him to his daughter’s missing body? Did he bury her in a coffin handmade by Jesus, the carpenter? Or did it all just happen in his head?

This is the worst kind of film ending and it differs from the book’s conclusion where there is a concrete resolution concerning the missing body, leading to the real-world capture and prosecution of the killer.

In the film, no time is spent resolving any of this. Rather, Mackenzie puts his grief behind him and lives a happy life with his family and wife, almost like nothing bad ever happened.Now that the end of both the book and the film are out of the bag, feel free to skip going to “The Shack . ” There is nothing there for the Christian. In fact, what you’ll find is a heretical wolf in sheep’s clothing — modalism — and it will bite anyone who takes their eyes off it for even a moment.

Watch the trailer

The Rev. Ted Giese ( [email protected]) is pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church , Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada; a contributor to the  Canadian Lutheran ,  Reporter Online   and  KFUO.org ; and movie reviewer for the “ Issues, Etc. ” radio program. Follow Pastor Giese on Twitter   @RevTedGiese . 

Posted March 9, 2017

Contributing Writer

March 10 webinar: spiritually preparing youth for college, judge neely will remain on bench despite censure.

I read the book several years ago, and came away thinking, this is NOT Christian. Thank you for this review.

Thank you for this. I have not seen the movie, but did read the book some years ago. Although on one level I enjoyed the story, I was left troubled by it, but unable to put a finger on what was so wrong, when so much seemed so right. My Pastor at the time unfortunately chose not to help me. Thank you so much for defining the differences between the trinity of The Shack and the Trinity of Scripture.

I was so wondering about going to it. Thanks for the update.

Thank you, Rev. Giese, for a concise explanation of the film and the obvious contradictions with Scriptural truth. I’ve not seen the movie or read the book, but I did watch an interview with one of the film stars. When they spoke of the “faith” aspect of the story, I became wary. Apparently, my instincts were correct. Blessings from Minnesota ~

Although I agree with your theological points pertaining to our understanding of Christian doctrine, I did find some very significant parts of the movie that made it worthwhile for me to see and enjoy. The story line wrestled with themes of forgiveness and atonement. Can a kidnapper and murderer be forgiven by God? How does one come to grips in forgiveness in the midst of such a horrible loss?

Likewise, I was very intrigued when the main character was asked to choose which of his two children he would send to heaven and which to hell. He was forced into making a choice and he chose that he would rather bear the punishment of hell himself than have one of his own children do so. The response of the character portraying wisdom was that he now had begun to understand the heart of Papa (God).

When I encounter a piece of literature like this movie, I remember my seminary days with Rev Rossow in his class entitled, “Literature and the Gospel.” The premise of that class was the theme of sin and the need to redemption in some form of a savior is so basic to our human nature and identity that it bleeds over into secular literature. Thus, this seminary professor was able to show us how to use literature as an entrance point or bridge in presenting the real gospel as it is outlined in Scripture and central to our Lutheran theology.

It is in this context that I see redeemable (sic?) qualities in this movie. I appreciated the struggle with sin and grace, even in the context of some theology that we acknowledge would fall outside of orthodoxy. At the end of the movie it is state that the main character forgave more and asked more for forgiveness as a result of his encounter with Papa (God). I see this movie as an excellent tool to lead in and present the Gospel in a strong way, as the issues dealt with by the main character are true to those encompassed in our human nature.

Blessings . . .

Chaplain (LTC) James Freitag

Excellent points, Chaplain Freitag. Your troops are blessed to have such a wise man shepherding them.

Thank you James. It would be good for all to see this movie for themselves. It seems to me to be a good conversation starter.

In watching the film we took it as a fictional movie & didn’t analyze it as Gospel truth. At the end you realize It was a man’s dream…fictional. I don’t know why so much time was use to pick apart a fictional story & compare it to the Bible. Some parts of his dream may have had some symbolic biblical references but you need to still knowl that the Bible is the true story. And if you take anything from this movie you will look at forgiveness & how we need to examine our faith walk & be more forgiving loving towards others.

There is a difference between symbolism and depiction in film. Also, there is a big difference when a film is claiming to be Christian and yet it depicts Modalism. For that we can and should analyze and examine fiction. The author of the book is an admitted Modalist.

Personally, I have many Evangelical friends who take this story as an accurate depiction of the Gospel because it is sold to them as Christian. That is where we should draw the line and atleast say it is not Christian.

Thank you. This is how i feel. Could mot put it into words.

Great Movie!! Highly recommend!!

Saw it and found a positive message in this age of protests. We have to stop being afraid of our Christianity being challenged by a positive message.

To call this blog post a “fear” response assumes what remains to be proven. All the same, “fear” of that which can be harmful can be a wise response, especially if the danger is hidden in an innocuous camouflage.

Still an enjoyable film for many, despite this negative review. I did not feel the necessity to tear it apart theologically. Just a feel good film instead of the many Sex , Murder , and Filthy talk films. that abound. A distinct change of pace that took me to the theater and made me happy.

This film does tread on sensitive ground. The other aforementioned “God” movies – “Oh God,” “Bruce Almighty” and “Evan Almighty” – were more generic in their depictions of the Deity. The Shack presents a clear alternative understanding of the Trinity, and it is this alternative understanding that is a major issue for those who criticize the film. While you might not notice the differences, neither might an untaught person, whether new to the Faith or still dealing with the call of God through the Gospel. If this opens the door to heretical expressions of the Fatih, we should be aware of that fact, both in order to expose the error and to provide the proper corrective.

I have to agree with you Mary. I’m glad I went. Didn’t read the book so I can’t compare.

Perhaps, directing people to “not go” was a bridge too far. While it is wise to provide discerning information, to order people to not see the film, even though it came from a good place, could be seen as an exercise in “the Leader Principle.”

You missed one important point found in your open “fictional,” as in imaginary, or made up. The motion picture is a adaptation from a fictional book. Motion pictures are for entertainment. As a nurse when I see a hospital scene on TV or in the movies, I can sit and criticize it to. This was a story, and should be accepted as that alone. Have you ever seen a motion picture that despite’s the Bible or Faith totally correct? This movie was NO Different.

What is the common response when you point out to a person they’re taking God’s name in vain? Most times it is “I didn’t mean anything by it”. That is the issue. Blasphemy is taking something holy and using in in a common way. This movie has taken something holy and reduced it to entertainment. The claim is that in the name of entertainment one can mishandle holy truths of God Himself and be excused for it.

I would encourage people to watch and use it for educational purposes. Don’t tell people not to see it. Teach them to have a filter. We do everyone a disservice if we don’t teach them to recognize untruth on their own and the LCMS is notorious for poor teaching. Watch the movie or better yet, read the book as a study for adults and especially youth. Our youth need to recognize false teaching, but how can they if all we do is say, “Don’t see it,” and don’t teach them how to recognize it. http://www.carpentersministrytoolbox.com/2017/03/education-shack.html

I agree. People in any stage of their faith journey new to expand their own mind by experiencing other’s interpretations of cocepts of God that are beyond human understanding.

This article by Pastor Ted Giese from just north of me in Regina, that originally was published on his congregation’s website, is the best single article for general audiences about The Shack that I have read. It is most reassuring to see a pastor doing this kind of work, defending the flock. I have been promoting this article online everywhere I can and to my District President for commendation to the pastors of my district.

For those who might be interested in something longer and with further background, you can get a free copy of a new book that makes its primary concern the chief article of faith upon which the church stands or falls, namely, justification and the redemption we have in Jesus.

Looking for healing for his Great Sadness, the author of The Shack missed the consolation provided by Lutheran faith and ministry. Instead, he hit upon a particular strain of thought from the renaissance of Trinitarian theology that happened worldwide in the 1980s and 1990s. This theology has much to be commended. Tragically, however, it departs from the teaching of Scripture about the atoning sacrifice of Jesus for us on the cross. It denies the wrath of God on sin, and denies that Jesus bore that wrath for us. The Shack teaches a different theory of the cross that springs from perichoretic speculations about the Trinity.

You can get a free PDF copy of The Shack: A Journey from Pain to Truth to Error at http://steadfastlutherans.org/2017/03/free-book-about-loss-of-the-gospel-in-the-shack/

The Shack is Christian fiction…. I prefer we as a body endorse this film vs Disneys new Beauty and the Beast

Not trying to make anyone feel bad, but I cannot agree that The Shack is Christian fiction. When a work denies the atonement in any Christian or Lutheran sense, that is not Christian fiction.

When a work messes up the Incarnation, as Pastor Giese explains, that is not Christian fiction.

Two things a work must get right to be Christian are: A. the person of Christ; and B. the work of Christ. If a work gets both the person and work of Christ wrong, it is not Christian.

Rather than Christian fiction, it is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, which is worse than a wolf in wolf’s clothing.

I did read the book and had many things to think about as we can not put God in a box. After all He is the Great I AM. which means He can be whoever and whatever He wants to me or fells we need at the time. I also saw the movie, and it was very good. I cried, and was challenged by God I felt His love I felt His relationship with me and that He really knows me. I felt His forgiveness and Him wanting us to forgive other I felt His encouragement I felt Him challenge me to be best person I can be. And I felt His mercy WE can enjoy a good movie and come out BEING INSPIRED TO BE A BETTER PERSON

Very good movie. I can’t for the life of me see why there is criticism. It glorifies THE FATHER. It shows HIS unlimited Love for us through expressions of THE HOLY TRINITY. We do not know the complete nature of GOD, but like the Pharisees we are condemning a film that showcases the Goodnesame of GOD. That HE loves us and expects that we love (limitless) like HE does. Forgiveness, Trust and personal relationship(s) are the main points of the movie.

I can imagine GOD trying to touch people through the film, then watch some who feel that GOD has to be this way or that way shoot it down. That’s what happened to JESUS. HE did not come the way they expected and they called HIM a herectic. That’s crazy. Go see the movie. It is intense and true regarding our expectations of THE MOST HIGH. You have eyes, ears and a mind. Don’t let others stop you from enjoying the film. It never states that it is a true event. It is a fictional Christian film that makes you think.

This is not the Bible, is not accurately portraying exact accounts from the Bible. We watched it for entertainment only, not for biblical lessons. However we were quite pleased with how well the portrayed relational issues between God and man, and answered common questions in a biblically based manner.

Bottom line, it will likely get people talking about God, seeking to understand the trinity better, or how God can interact with us. Go knowing it’s not all word for word, and enjoy the adventure. Then read the Bible and study Gods word.

My wife had read the book a while back and wanted to see the movie. What immediately grabbed me was the FATHER being a woman and the HOLY SPIRIT also being a woman. It got even worse when the woman said she used many names! (All roads lead to God) about a third of the way into the movie the power in the city went out. ( the news said there was no explanation for it) We got a refund and went home. Movie was NOT worth going to!

I too saw the film and was surprised at the choice of characters displaying The Trinity. Perhaps this was a strategy to distract us away from those teachings and try to allow us to look at some of the larger themes that were very important and came through loud and clear to me! The ending song Keep Your Eyes On Me was such a strong message sent. In this day and age so many times we are distracted and can easily lose our way with that trust in God. Also, the wonderful scenery symbolized the beauty of being with God, especially in the afterlife!! Another strong message that came across to me was how we as a society are trying to “play God” and how judgmental we have become! This is so destructive to our society! As well as the message of forgiveness and grace, these were huge parts of this feel good movie that I saw! I felt the love that God has for all his children and that to me was so worth going to this film. SO SORRY to see this movie being totally picked apart on a theological note and not giving it credit for these wonderful messages…..go to observe the emotional struggle that Mackenzie has with the destructive feelings of anger, guilt, and depression that he felt and how ultimately these feelings isolated him from his relationships with others. “Keeping his eyes on God” and working through forgiving the killer did allow him to help with deflating these feelings brought on by this horrible tragedy in his life, and yes, that did allow him to live and love more freely here on earth. We all have pain in our life because of sin, but we can live with that inner peace when we walk with God and choose to keep our eyes on Him instead of the self destructive feelings that can grow from pain and sin! GO SEE THE FILM!

Why do we feel the need to over analyze stories about religion? It is a beautiful story about love and forgiveness. When my children’s school (a Lutheran school went public) and children from all, or no religions were invited to attend. Everyone scoffed that the Christian message would be lost. I put my faith in Jesus and the wonderful teachers there. The parents were given the option of exempting their children from religion class and chapel each week. None did. Of the hundred or so students that enrolled that year, 2 of the kids asked to be baptised at the end of the school year. Mission accomplished. My point, if seeing this movie will reach 1 person, and they turn back to God, mission accomplished. Any one who sees this movie as anything more than a wonderful story about God being love, and forgiveness as a way of life. Is just silly. No-one involved in this project, and especially Mr Young, are trying to replace or disrupt the gospel. I think any one who belives otherwise is afraid. We need to focus on the message, the same way I do every Sunday, to the message off my pastor’s sermon.

Yes it is worth seeing. It is not a factual documental movie. It is based on a fictional book. It was good

I read the book back in January. I felt it was absolutely outstanding. The author is writing about an experience that really happened to the main character, but they had to call it fiction because no one could prove or disprove it. It was a fantastic story of forgiveness and shows a parent in his most raw and vulnerable moments, which we can all relate to. Pain/death/unjustifiable heartbreak is just part of the broken covenant in the Garden! There is no quoted scripture in the book. It does not claim to be a Biblical reference. At no point reading that book did I feel that my biblically-based values were in question. The author does a beautiful job of painting a picture, if that’s even possible, of how the Trinity might work as three in one. I’ve always struggled with picturing how this could work and this book gave me a small glimpse. The Author, through this guys’ testimony, fantastically addresses how God meets our innermost needs and pours his grace upon us at just the right times in His perfect way. All of that can be backed up with scripture! Jesus did not invent ‘religion’. He taught his disciples how to follow Him/God/Holy Spirit and he did it through relationship and meeting people’s needs. He got in the trenches with His people. He got in the boat! This book depicts a beautiful example of God coming down to get in the boat with us– to comfort and woo us back to Him all while giving us free will. The minute we lose our humility and think we fully understand the depth and breadth of every God-breathed Word in scripture, we are guilty of thinking we are omniscient! I think it’s worth the read! I was encouragement to my journey of faith. I’m sure the movie, which I haven’t seen yet, doesn’t do it justice as movies never do, LOL, but I’ll go anyway. God be with you all.

I’ve been a Christian for 48 years. I chose to read the book and see the movie not to explain the Trinity to me or for me to understand forgiveness. I found the movie entertaining and the beauty of the scenes lovely, the Pacific Northwest is a beautiful area to enjoy. I didn’t find the movie as sacreligious at all. I have a good grounding in my Biblical knowledge. I feel like they did a good job in explaining how God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one but different as well. I don’t know if God can manifest himself as a women black, white or Asian or anything else, who does know? I will recommend this movie to my friends to go and see it.

The problem with a movie like this is that well-grounded Christians will recognize the errors and be able to separate Christian fact from secular fiction. However, far too many modern Christians are not grounded thoroughly in correct doctrine, plus many non-Christians will see this movie, and both groups will come away confused at best or with an entirely wrong view of the true God at worst.

Personally I didn’t like the movie I had a hard time figuring out what was going on. I went with a friend and she also felt the same way. I am a Christian and am of Lutheran MS faith. Reading the above helped to understand it a little more. Thanks for the information.

It was a wonderful movie from a fictional book. People are missing the point-it is about forgiveness and letting go in your life, how you can move on. We need more movies like this, people get tired of the news in real life.

Thank you for this. I read the book years ago, and I also remember that there was something in the Lutheran Witness about it. I did not think the book was right!

People need to remember that while this movie is certainly Christian themed that it *is* at the end, only a movie. Written, directed, and produced with the goal of making money. I don’t go to the movies to research the Bible, God, or Christianity- that’s what church and my pastor are for.

I, for one, loved the movie and as a result of it ended up doing a lot of soul searching and ultimately ended up renewing my own relationship and dedication to Christ.

If the movie ends up having that sort of effect on people or gets them to investigate Christ further I’m all for it, no matter the inaccuracies.

This movie is about Grace and Forgiveness . My daughter and I wept through most of it. To criticize it as you have done here shows you’ve missed the entire point of the movie.

Theological Correctness never entered my mind.

Thank you William P Young for helping me and many others learn to forgive.

Great movie..not meant to be a true story. People need to relax. Dont be so quick to judge. If anything, that was the meaning of the movie that so many apparently missed.

I loved the movie and found it as a positive message God loves us all so much and works on us our time evil dose exist in our world but God can trun the most hurtful and painful things in to something beautiful and meaningful take the cross for example one of the most painful and humelading and horrific ways to die and he turned the cross in to a beautiful symbol and and something to look up to

A friend of mine just made a post on Facebook saying, “‘The Shack’ is a great depiction of The Trinity.” I immediately Googled, “Is ‘The Shack’ a Christian film.” This essay was the first Google result.

I have not seen the movie yet, and I may not. However, I will say that this essay is what annoys me about Chritianity and why I havent been to church in a while.

You get bogged down in “modality” and all other kinds of minutiae. P. Bruss, said it best in their comment 4 or 5 posts up –

“I don’t know why so much time was use to pick apart a fictional story & compare it to the Bible.’

I agree with Chaplin Freitag that this movie can be a good way to reach out to non-Christians. There are theological issues, but I believe it is worth seeing so that we can use it as a bridge to share the good news of what Jesus Christ has done for us. This review does not talk much about the main themes of the book and movie. God loves us and cares about us is the major theme. And another theme is that forgiveness is an important part of healing.

I believe the book and movie does not portray the view of Moralistic and Therapeutic Deism as the reviewer thinks, because of the backstory behind Paul Young’s writing of the book. Paul Young was a church worker whose view of God was moralistic and authoritarian. He wore this mask of being a good person while his sin was destroying him. God brought him down and then showed him forgiveness, mercy and grace. Out of this experience he wrote the book. The book was intended to reach out to those who are hurting and view God as a stern judge. They are in need of the Gospel, not Law, which the book provides. We can use this movie to show them that though God is just, he is also loving.

How about focusing on the gift of HOPE….that’s what this book and movie is about.

When we are in such dark despair, God comes to us in very interesting measures. We don’t need to give the whole bale of hay to folks when they’ve finally surrendered enough to grasp for one grass of clover.

GOD HEALS! End of story. This movie can initiate some very positive discussion.

Read the book and saw the movie. I agree that it is not theologically sound. With that being said, if someone is struggling to know Gods love and the power of forgiveness this movie plants a seed. A seed grows and matures and the mature Christian can then decipher the theological faults. If it can plant a seed then the Holy Spirit is at work.

How often did Jesus teach in parables? We are told why he taught in parables. We also know that we are all at different maturities in our faith. That being said, I ask this: How many convicted believers will be led astray by this movie? None. How many who don’t know God at all may be led to ask about him? Countless. How many who don’t know God at all will be let to NEVER ask about him? I doubt any. This was a non-threatening film in so many ways.

The trinity will NEVER be understood by anyone until we are called home. And as convicted as I am in God’s word and as much as I appreciate the fact that there are people willing to take the microscope of analysis to movies such as The Shack, we can’t miss the fact that this can be a fantastic tool used to begin reaching those who are seaking who God is. And perhaps they are seeking BECAUSE OF this movie. How will they react when they come to us asking about God and we tell them how non-theologically correct this movie is. Personally, I wouldn’t want to talk to you anymore.

I was very skeptical and I did not make it through the book. Being more visual, I went with my wife. Yes, the characters took some getting used to, but after putting my LCMS hat to the side to enjoy the movie, I thought it did a really good job of putting a visual picture of the impossible-to-understand. I’m taking my kids, because I trust my ability to teach them the Truth above what Hollywood does.

I watched the movie and loved it. It is the first time I saw God portrayed as a woman. And the Holy Spirit too, the Ruah described in the Bible. And Jesus, not portrayed as a white male but as a midle east man.

I have not seen the movie yet, I plan to, but have read the book. This is a fictional story based on the concepts of pain, loss of faith, forgiveness and ultimately new-found faith and God’s grace and redemption. We in the flesh struggle with these concepts daily. I thought the idea of making God a black woman for most of the story very unique, especially since Father God is a spirit and does not have human form. By doing this I feel the author did not disrespect the Trinity as I understand it from the Word, and feel that we should go outside the box of thinking using the gift of our spiritual discernment.

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• About Dr. Bob Rogers

Movie review: “The Shack”

Posted by Bob Rogers

My wife and I saw the sneak preview of the new motion picture, The Shack . I posted a review earlier of the bestselling book (click here to read it) of the same title by William Paul Young, so I wanted to follow up with this review of the movie. The plot The Shack is a deeply emotional film about a man named Mack Phillips, played by Sam Worthington, who is angry at God because of the abusive and tragic circumstances he experienced as a child and as an adult. The film tells the story of a deeply personal tragedy that occurs at a shack in the woods, and how Mack gets a letter from God, inviting him to return to the shack and deal with his pain. Mack returns, and there meets God in three persons, who engage him in experiences and conversations that allow him to rediscover the goodness of God. After he resolves these issues and learns to accept forgiveness and give forgiveness, Mack returns to his family a changed man. The plot uses flashbacks to tell about the tragedies in his life. Much of the story is framed as a visionary dream, which is a major departure from the plot of the original book. The plot moves well at the beginning and the end, although it may seem a bit long in the middle, if you are not engaged in the conversations. The characters Octavia Spencer plays “Papa,” a character representing God the Father, who appears to Mack as an affectionate African-American woman. She explains that since Mack could not relate to God as a father, due to his childhood experiences with an abusive father, Papa has chosen to appear as a mother figure. In fact, all three persons of the Trinity are there. The Son, representing Jesus, is a Middle Eastern man, played by Abraham Aviv Alush, and Sarayu (the Spirit), played by Sumire Matsubara, is represented by a young Asian woman who glows and shines and sometimes just disappears. Although God is represented as three different persons, they act in unison, as one person continues a conversation with Mack that he had earlier with the other person. The message The movie deals powerfully with the question of why God allows suffering. Papa, The Son, and Sarayu do not offer easy answers, but they help Mack to get a bigger picture of how God loves, forgives and redeems. For example, when Mack angrily tells Papa that Papa could not be good and allow the Son to suffer on the cross, Papa shows nail scars in her own wrist, and says with tears, “Don’t think that I wasn’t also there when my Son died.”  In another scene, Jesus sends Mack on a path to a cave where he meets a female called Wisdom, who lets Mack sit in the judgment seat of God and see what it is like to be a judge, an experience that overwhelms him, reminding him that no human should try to play God, and also hinting at the reason Jesus had to die for our sins. Unfortunately, the emphasis on God’s love is so strong, that a balanced statement about God’s holiness is lacking. God reminds Mack that sin has consequences, but when Mack bluntly asks Papa about God’s wrath, Papa could have said that God is holy and offended by sin, but instead only emphasized God’s goodness and love. The film quality This is a quality film production. There are breathtaking nature scenes, scenes filled with color and light, darkness and drama. The music is engaging, but not distracting. The main actors and supporting cast are all convincing in their roles. Octavia Spencer exudes love and kindness as Papa, and Sam Worthington explodes with emotion and pain as Mack. Country singer Tim McGraw does a good job as a supporting actor, playing Mack’s friend, who becomes a narrator of the story. Comparisons with the book Fans of the book will probably also like the movie, and some critics of the book may like the movie better than the book. I don’t remember hearing any profanity in the movie, although the book has some profanity. The portrayal of God the Father as a woman is explained sooner and more clearly in the movie than in the book. There were several passages in the book that critics accused of teaching universal salvation (that all people will go to heaven), particularly some conversations Mack had with the persons of the Trinity. Most of those controversial conversations do not occur in the movie, although the movie does repeat the words of Jesus that He is not a “Christian” (which came across as humorous to me both in the book and film.) The movie puts more emphasis on God’s love than on God’s judgment, although it it reminds the viewer that God does make judgments of heaven and hell and that sin does have consequences. After the movie was over, I asked my wife, who has not read the book, if she thought the movie taught universal salvation, and she said, “Not at all.” Spoiler alert : If you have read the book, you will notice that the movie ends a little differently. It makes the whole encounter at the shack into a visionary dream, and while the book has Mack actually finding his daughter’s body and giving it a proper burial, the movie shows that happening as part of his dream. Then the movie focuses at the end on Mack going to church with his family and having a new faith in God. The movie added the friend as a narrator of the story at the beginning and end, which I thought was a good framing device for the story. Conclusion I liked the original book, despite its flaws, but I liked the movie even more. What I like the most is that it deals with the important issues of pain, suffering, the redemption God offers through Jesus Christ. I wept several times as I thought about my own sin and need for forgiveness, and it moved me to want to be more forgiving towards others. My wife commented that the story touches nearly every person at some level in their lives. This film offers a vivid story that can open up discussions with our friends and neighbors about how our hope is found, not in an old rustic shack, but on an old rugged cross.

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About Bob Rogers

Posted on March 3, 2017, in Movies and tagged acting , actor , actors , Christian , Christianity , drama , faith , film , forgiveness , God , Holy Spirit , hope , Jesus , motion picture , movie , movies , Octavia Spencer , pain , redemption , religion , salvation , Sam Worthington , spiritual , suffering , the shack , Tim McGraw , tragedy , Trinity , universalism , William Paul Young . Bookmark the permalink . 9 Comments .

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Great review my dear friend….and I mean GREAT reveiw. I too, along with my 15 year old grandson, saw the Premier showing of the movie and loved it! Am going again soon with a group of Christian ladies and I can’t wait. And I don’t often at all go to the movies. Kim Morris

I guess my response would be “after seeing this movie do people have a better concept of the God of the Bible, His personality and His expectations of humanity?” Cults and esoteric groups have portrayed God as a woman for years. Despite the artfully worded review that nagging question remains. As for it’s worthiness, I would agree that it may convey a message of hope and forgiveness. But for someone who knows nothing about God before entering the movie theater, where would this person go after seeing the movie that portrays God in this movie depiction to develop their faith?

Rev. Nace, that is an excellent question. If they choose to go where Mack goes in the film, it would be to a Christian church.

Great review you took us like a short voyage with the movie besides the notes of the original book.

Good review. This is a wonderful film about a connection with God, and what ails humanity (the struggles). More specifically, suffering, forgiveness, judgement and love. After seeing this film, it really had me contemplating my failings, and what life really should be about. It is set with a Christian flavor, but really goes beyond that with it’s message.

Really liked it until the main character walked into the light in the forest and met the Trinity. The premise was good, but it became a bit “hokey” and silly. The Trinity actors were miscast, although the actor playing Jesus was credible. But…I once read that God will connect with you the best way that you can understand. Maybe that’s why He revealed Himself to the guy as his neighborhood adult friend who cared about him. The lessons and symbolism were important. Liked the movie, but did not like the casting of the Trinity so much. Worth the money. Chick flick.

I Loved this movie. It was very true to the book and an emotional roller coaster.

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The Shack Parent Guide

This deep look at a father dealing with loss explores some important concepts, including forgiving and healing..

Mack (Sam Worthington) is dealing with the loss of his daughter. Then the grieving father receives a mysterious invitation to return to the shack where she was murdered -- from someone claiming to be God! This movie is based on a Christian novel by William Paul Young.

Release date March 3, 2017

Run Time: 132 minutes

Official Movie Site

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by rod gustafson.

Mack Phillips (Sam Worthington) is a man carrying more baggage than an overseas-bound 747. His troubled childhood included a father who brutally abused both him and his mother. The terror pushed Mack to make a critical decision, the weight of which still hangs upon him.

The years have passed and now Mack has a lovely family and wonderfully supportive wife (Radha Mitchell). But when he takes his three kids for a camping trip, a seemingly inconsolable event occurs. After rescuing his son and older daughter (Gage Munroe, Megan Charpentier) from a canoeing accident, he returns to their campsite and discovers his youngest daughter (Amelie Eve) is missing. An exhaustive search eventually reveals her blood-stained clothes in an abandoned shack far into the woods.

Prepared for a violent confrontation with the murderer, Mack makes his way through the snowy wilderness. What he eventually finds though isn’t at all what he (or we) might expect. In an opening in the dense forest he discovers a lush and flowery clearing where he meets Papa, Jesus Christ and Sarayu (Octavia Spencer, Aviv Alush, Sumire Matsubara)—better known to Christians as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The introduction is the beginning of a process that will ultimately change Mack’s life. He will gain valuable insight about his ability to forgive, how his preconceived notions alter his judgment of others and eventually alter his understanding of his relationship with deity.

This deep look at a father dealing with loss will likely be too abstract and/or frightening for children. Even some adults may have a difficult time riding the emotional cues in this film. Obviously, your experience will depend on your religious background and acceptance of, at the very least, the existence of God. Certainly, some Christians may object to the multi-cultural and dual-gender representation of these revered deities, which includes Octavia Spencer playing the role of God. However, if viewed as an allegory, this tale introduces and explores some important concepts. The story places greater emphasis on Mack’s healing process than promoting specific doctrine, making it more of a lesson on how we may move past barriers that stop us from progressing.

Thanks to A-list actors and a carefully crafted script, which is based on the incredibly popular novel by William Paul Young , The Shack comes across as a sincere offering to the many of us who are dealing with our own life-long scars and grudges. Just be prepared to become far more personally engaged with this movie than most other cinematic experiences.

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Rod Gustafson

The shack rating & content info.

Why is The Shack rated PG-13? The Shack is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for thematic material including some violence.

Violence: A man physically abuses his wife and son; after his son speaks to a church leader about the problem the father whips him violently with a belt. Two teens are in a canoe that capsizes and one of them is trapped underneath: CPR is administered and the teen revives. A character is seen putting poison into a drink: it is implied this action has fatal consequences. A child goes missing and a long search uncovers a blood-stained sweater. It is later revealed that the child was murdered. Brief visuals of terrorism and other violent acts are seen in flashback. A character is mentally tortured over events that have taken place. A character is seen holding a gun. A large truck runs a stop sign and narrowly misses hitting someone. A character is struck by a vehicle and is later seen in hospital with some minor injuries. A character discovers the body of a child, we see a close-up of the legs and feet.

Sexual Content: It is vaguely implied that a child may have been sexually assaulted.

Profanity: None noted.

Drugs/Alcohol: Opening scenes depict an alcoholic who is abusive to his family. Poison is put in a drink.

Page last updated July 17, 2017

The Shack Parents' Guide

Forgiveness is usually seen as a religious concept. Do the consequences of not forgiving only affect people of faith? What tools or methods can someone use to overcome these feelings if they are not spiritually motivated to do so?

Are there actual physical or mental health consequences from harboring anger and hatred toward someone? Check out this information from a medical expert on the health benefits of forgiveness .

Mack discovers that he judges people according to his own beliefs and experience. What experiences have you had that may prejudice you toward others? What types of people come into your mind when you think of those who you mistrust? Where do these images and perceptions come from? How can you try to change these beliefs?

News About "The Shack"

This movie is based on the novel The Shack by William Paul Young .

The most recent home video release of The Shack movie is May 30, 2017. Here are some details…

The Shack releases to home video (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital HD) on May 30, 2017, with the following bonus features: - Audio Commentary with Director Stuart Hazeldine - “Touched by God: A Writer’s Journey” Featurette - “God’s Heart for Humanity” Featurette - “Heaven Knows”: The Power of Song with Hillsong United” Featurette - “Something Bigger than Ourselves: The Making of The Shack” Featurette - “Premiere Night: A Blessed Evening” Featurette - Deleted Scene

Related home video titles:

A regretful man gets the rare opportunity to spend time with his deceased mother For One More Day . And a man is able to make sense of his life after he talks to The Five People You Meet In Heaven .

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I was skeptical..., best description of trinity movie, enjoyable movie., the best christian movie ever, inspiring, thought provoking and a must watch, moving and powerful.

Christian Movie Reviews - Family Friendly Entertainment

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More to The Shack Than Shaky Theology

• Carrie Dedrick
• Updated May 26, 2017

After months of both anticipation and controversy, The Shack (based on William P. Young's 2007 bestseller) underwhelmed. While I won't be singing its praises or seeing it a second time, I can't come down too hard on it either since some seekers might emerge from the theater wanting to learn more about God. 2.5 out of 5 .  

What Works?

What doesn't, christian worldview elements / spiritual themes.

As to The Big Issue: Yes, The Trinity is portrayed as three people. Nowhere in Scripture do we find the Holy Spirit embodied as a person. When Mack asks them the important question, "Which one of you… [is God]?" they respond in unison, "I am." God the Father being portrayed as a woman is addressed, and Papa explains that the white beard Mack expected God to have was that of Santa Claus. Later in the film, Papa is portrayed as an elderly man ( Graham Greene ) at the moment when Mack most needs a father figure.

CAUTIONS (may contain spoilers)

• MPAA Rating:  PG-13 for thematic material including some violence
• Language/Profanity : Mack says, “Oh my God” when he tries God's cooking. God gives him a look and the scene is played for a laugh.
• Sexuality/Nudity : The only questionable moment came when Mack's wife made a comment about "feeling lucky." However, it served as a double entendre for the couple's upcoming fishing trip.
• Violence/Frightening/Intense : Mack's father is shown physically abusing mother and son when Mack is a child. A canoe accident involving Mack's elder daughter and son is intense. Mack's son, Josh, becomes trapped in the canoe netting and remains unconscious until his father performs CPR. Mack's daughter's bloody dress that she wore during her murder is shown multiple times. Mack washes blood off his hands after falling on ice. There is a near collision involving Mack and an 18-wheeler. Mack comes to the shack armed with a pistol. He gets violent at the shack and throws chairs. He then points the gun at himself, though he does not pull the trigger. Mack has a dream in which he is falling through a cave-like tunnel and when he hits the ground, his daughter Missy is kidnapped. Mack hallucinates an image of his son drowning underwater while in a canoe on the lake; then the water turns black and his boat starts to sink. Missy's body is found and shown in a burial cloth. There is a car accident resulting in an actual collision.
• Drugs/Alcohol : Mack's father is called an alcoholic and pictured with liquor. There is also a drug dealer shown during the "judgment" scene.  

The Bottom Line

RECOMMENDED FOR:  People who are looking for a basic explanation of who the Trinity is; those looking to start a conversation about Christianity with their friends; people who enjoyed the bestselling novel.

The Shack,  directed by Stuart Hazeldine, opened in theaters March 3, 2017; available for home viewing May 30, 2017. It runs 132 minutes and stars Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, Aviv Alush, Tim McGraw, Radha Mitchell, Alice Braga, Graham Greene and Sumire Matsubara. Watch the trailer for The Shack here .  

Carrie Dedrick is Crosswalk.com's Editor for Family Content .

Publication date : March 1, 2017

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Dove Review

“The Shack” is a profound and creative way of revealing the unconditional love of God. Mackenzie “Mack” (Sam Worthington) has an encounter with the Holy Trinity at a shack following the death of his beloved daughter. The movie is heartwrenching at times, but it reveals the compassion and mercy of God even during great grief and sorrow. The themes are: forgiveness, compassion, and closure. Mack learns it takes forgiveness, including him forgiving his own abusive father, in order to move on. Mack receives a letter in the mailbox despite there being no tracks in the recently fallen snow. The letter invites him to the shack to meet with the sender, and it is signed “Papa.” And Papa turns out to be a pretty important character!

God is represented in various ways, including as a woman (Octavia Spencer). The dialog and communication in the film is powerful. There is some brief violence, but it is not gratuitous. This film is powerful and gripping and has the potential to change lives. We are delighted to award it our Faith-Friendly Seal for ages 12-plus. “The Shack” will move audiences in a powerful way!

Dove Rating Details

Man beats wife and slaps son; man whips boy with belt in a brief scene; missing girl's dress is found in a shack along with blood; a man winds up in hospital after his truck was hit by a semi.

Wife kisses husband's hand while he is in the hospital.

G/OMG-4; idiots-1; H (as a place)-1

Deacon in a church secretly drinks; boy shown putting poison in his abusive father's alcohol but nothing further is seen regarding this.

Tension between characters; man falls on ice, knocking himself out; man saves son after son falls in water and nearly drowns; great grief is shown over a girl that is kidnapped and later found dead; a man has a bad dream about his daughter being taken.

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‘The Shack’ Movie Review – Heresy, Universalism, & False Gospel

By Steven Bancarz | ‘ The Shack ‘ is a book that has sold over 23 million copies, and has recently become a major motion picture.  As someone who has not read the book, I was excited to see the film.  The trailer looked good enough, the cinematography appeared to be pleasant, and the story line one which could really initiate healing in many people’s lives.

I actually went to see the movie during a rainstorm and a power outage, because I was really looking forward to seeing the my first ‘Christian’ major motion picture in over a decade and wanted to see what the hype was all about.

This book has made a positive impact on a lot of people, who I fully believe have received healing and restoration from this book in some way.  But unfortunately, the movie contained strains of heresy that are so opposed to scripture that it is hard to stand behind.  There are some things that are so direct that they are shocking, and some things that are less direct but very slippery and suggestive.

Paul Young (author of The Shack ) recently released a book called Lies We Believe About God  where he clears up any confusion we may have about what The Shack teaches by denying the existence of Hell, denying that sin separates us from God, denying we must believe in Jesus to be saved (since he thinks we are all already saved), denying that Jesus was a sacrifice for our sins, and by claiming we can repent and be restored to God even after death.

While The Shack does not teach all of these heresies, it does suggest some of them implicitly.  One line that “Papa” says in the shack stands opposed to about 100 scripture verses and denies the heart of the Gospel. We are going to take a look at some heresies in The Shack movie right now, and we will clearly see that this is not the God revealed in scripture.

1. The Father was crucified with the Son.

The Shack teaches that the Father was actually crucified on the cross with Jesus, suffering for the sins of the world.  We know from scripture that the Father was in Heaven while Jesus was on earth:

“For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” – Matthew 12:50 (ESV)

It was the Son who was sent by the Father for the sins of humanity.  The Father sent the Son (John 3:16), the Father stayed in Heaven (Matthew 6:9, Matthew 7:11, etc.) the Son went back to the Father (John 14:12, John 14:28). To believe the Father suffered for the sins of the world is to commit the heresy known as Patripassianism:

When asked in an interview by Matt Slick of CARM if the Father was crucified with the Son, Paul Young finally says:  “Sure…The Father was in the son when the son hung on the cross…He went through the crucifixion in the son.”  While the movie affirms three distinct persons in the Trinity, it is a pretty big error to believe that the Father suffered on the cross.

I really can’t see any reason to include this in the book or movie other than to make an appeal to emotionalism at the expense of Biblical accuracy. Here is the scene from the movie where “Papa” says that she was on the cross with Jesus:

2. God doesn’t punish sin.

This line almost made me fall out of my seat.  When Mackenzie (the main character) asks Papa (the Father) if she ever has wrath towards sin and punishes people for it, she replies:

“I am not who you think I am Mackenzie. I don’t need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring from the inside. It is not my purpose to punish; it is my joy to cure it.” (1)

The Bible says about 100 times that God punishes sin.  Jeremiah alone contains over 30 references to God punishing sin using the word “punish” specifically:

“ I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds, declares the LORD;” – Jeremiah 21:14

Ezekiel alone contains over 15 direct references to God punishing sin, using the word “punish”, while Amos (10), Hosea (9), Zechariah (6) and Isaiah (6) are also littered with these specific references:

“Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you, and judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. ” – Ezekiel 7:8

If we add in the additional references to God’s general wrath against sin, we are looking at a number much, MUCH larger.  This one line denies the heart of the Gospel.  The wages of sin is death, we are sinners deserving of God’s justice, but Jesus took our punishment and judgment in our place so that we could be forgiven while God’s justice satisfied.  It says in Isaiah that:

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:4-5

Jesus was a propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2), was a fragrant offering (Ephesians 5:2) and sacrifice towards God (Hebrews 10:12).  Jesus died FOR our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3).  And if we do not believe in the Lord with a repentant faith, we will be condemned in our sin (John 3:18, Mark 16:16).

This is the essence of the Gospel, that God punishes sin and has wrath toward mankind because of their sin, Jesus came as the sacrifice for our sins so that we would not have to endure the penalty of our sins, which is eternal separation from God in Hell:

They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, – 2 Thessalonians 1:9

So if The Shack teaches that God never punishes sin, and the Bible teaches 100 times that God punishes sin and that Jesus was punished for our sins, AND if it teaches that we will be punished for rejecting Jesus, then we have a problem here.  This is not the same God of the Bible.  This is not the Gospel.  Plain and simple.

Paul Young teaches a false Gospel

Paul believes that everyone is already saved as of right now, and that we are just resisting relationship but can choose relationship at any point (even after death).  And yes, these things are hinted at in the movie, as I cover in the movie review down below.  These ideas are found absolutely nowhere in Scripture, and are destructive heresies whose only source of inspiration is the hellish tongue of Paul Young and the idol of God who sits on the throne of his heart.

Paul doesn’t believe God sent Jesus to die for our sins, and this false Gospel of universalism and the denial of God’s punishment toward sin is the backbone of this controversial quote in The Shack .  This gives context and clarity to the line “Papa” says to Mackenzie.  Paul Young says the following about this traditional understanding of the Gospel:

“ God has never wanted sacrifice.  Never.  That has never been a part of God’s plan.  [Jesus] came to get us out of this retributive, punitive thing.  And this is not new doctrine, this is early church.   The early church didn’t believe that the Father killed his Son .  We’ve got God the Father who is the antiseptic one, the one who needs to be appeased and that we need to sacrifice to and Jesus provides himself so that God the Father doesn’t beat the Hell out of his like he did to him.  

You understand? How crazy is this? And who knows where the Holy Spirit is.  Is the Holy Spirit trying to protect the Son from the abusive Father, or is the Holy Spirit just silently standing by being an enabler for the Father?” (2)

When asked if he believed the cross was a place of punishment for our sin, he responded by saying:

“No.  I am not a penal substitution, reformation…I don’t see that it’s necessary to have the Father punish, in that sense, the Son.” (3)

So this one line in The Shack is enough to undermine the entire Gospel, the work Jesus did on the cross, and the God of the Bible.  This, to me, is the worst heresy in the entire film and book.  You can’t have the Gospel as it is revealed in scripture if you don’t have Jesus dying FOR our sins.  As an atoning sacrifice for our sins, for which we would have been punished apart from this sacrificial death.

“A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” – Galatians 5:9

There is another scene that seems to suggest God doesn’t send people to Hell, there is a scene where Jesus says he is not a “Christian” and doesn’t care if other people call themselves Christians either, where the Father says men are such “idiots” sometimes, and how can we leave out that the Father is represented by a woman when Jesus says nobody has seen the Father (John 6:46) God says that nobody can see his face and live (Exodus 33:20).

I put together a full movie review where we go through some of this stuff more in depth, we look at additional problems in the film, as well as some more of Paul Young’s views and how they relate to scenes in the movie.

This is not a movie/book that accurately represents the God of scripture, it denies the heart of the Good News and the cross, and waters down God’s justice to nothing more than universalism.  While it may be psychologically and emotionally healing, it teaches a different version of God that contradicts the Father whom Jesus revealed to us.

Paul Young has taken accountability, justice, and the true nature of God away and replaced it with something more palatable and politically correct.   The Shack  is an excellent concept for a film, has a great story line, and even brought me to tears during a scene or two.  It brings me a certain level of sadness because I see the huge potential in this story, but theologically it is too far off base to be manageable.

God punishes sin.  Jesus died for our sins.  If you don’t believe this you are not a Christian.

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” – 1 John 4:1

The Shack , Windblown Media, 2007, pg. 120-121

“an interview with wm. paul young (part 2) – orchard grove community church mi – feb 2017”, youtube, 2017, “episode of wretched – author of the shack is universalist”, wretched. youtube. 2009.

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Review: 'Cabaret' with a kinetic Eddie Redmayne can't redeem a faltering Broadway revival

I f ambience were the secret to theatrical success, the new Broadway revival of "Cabaret" that opened on Sunday at the August Wilson Theatre would be the hit of the year.

The venue has been transformed into the Kit Kat Club, the Weimar era Berlin nightspot, where the naughty pastiche score by John Kander and Fred Ebb gets to strut its decadent stuff.

A prologue invites theatergoers to immerse themselves in the boozy, burlesque spirit of the show before it properly begins. The bar is buzzing as dancers of freaky eclecticism offer a taste of the risqué entertainment awaiting every fetish.

The theater's traditional proscenium stage, which Lea Michele not so long ago set ablaze in her performance as Fanny Brice in the revival of “Funny Girl,” has been reconfigured into an in-the-round auditorium. A woman seated in front of me asked if I’d like a glass of wine. I declined. I prefer my intoxication at the theater to be administered artistically, and there’s the rub with this erratic revival.

The production, a British import directed by Rebecca Frecknall, won seven Olivier Awards, including best musical. But something vital has been lost in the transatlantic crossing.

Eddie Redmayne , whose kinetic portrayal of the Emcee was the talk of London, reprises his performance in the role that earned Joel Grey and Alan Cumming eternal glory. Winner of an Oscar (for playing Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything") and a Tony Award (for his featured performance in "Red"), Redmayne puts his own androgynous stamp on the character in a spellbinding display that is as physically precise as it is theatrically audacious.

Decked out like a marionette clown with sexual proclivities that refuse to be hemmed in by official categories, he resembles a Howdy Doody figure reconceived for a wild photo spread in Vogue Hommes. His sinewy torso twisting with whiplash grace, his arms undulating like snakes that have fallen under the charm of a clarinet, Redmayne elevates the production not by his level of musical showmanship but by his potently deployed stage presence.

If you’re looking for powerhouse singing, this outing of “Cabaret” will sorely disappoint. The production is faithful to the seedy Berlin aesthetic of the show’s locale. The characters in Joe Masteroff’s book, based on the play “I Am a Camera” by John van Druten that was itself based on stories by Christopher Isherwood, aren’t meant to be Broadway Olympians.

There’s a school of thought that Liza Minnelli, who won an Oscar for her rendition of Sally Bowles in the brilliant film adaptation of “Cabaret,” was too accomplished a performer for the role. I’ve never given much credence to this argument, believing that movie musicals, like musicals generally, are elevated by virtuoso singing and dancing.

But in any case, this production takes this notion of fictional integrity to a ludicrous extreme in the casting of Gayle Rankin as Sally Bowles. Jessie Buckley, a renowned singer and gripping dramatic actor, won (along with Redmayne) an Olivier for her performance in the London run. Rankin appears to have stepped into an interpretation of the part that she hasn't the same skill set to pull off. Not only is her singing raucous but her characterization is off-putting, even antipathetic.

Why Clifford Bradshaw (Ato Blankson-Wood), the bisexual American writer who is on the lam in Berlin from his parents’ conventional expectations, has decided to shack up with Sally, a tawdry chanteuse whose sad-sweet charm is nowhere in evidence, is one of the unanswered mysteries of this revival.

Rankin’s Sally strains after dramatic effects that fail to materialize. “Cabaret” has such a rich Broadway history. Natasha Richardson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michelle Williams and Emma Stone are part of the show’s glorious New York track record. The role can accommodate a broad spectrum of musical and dramatic talents, to say nothing of varying approaches to the character.

You don’t have to approve of Sally’s morality, but you have to care about the character’s fate. And that’s what Rankin’s unalluring performance prevents. What does it say about a revival of “Cabaret” in which I kept hoping that Fraulein Schneider (Bebe Neuwirth) would change the locks of her boardinghouse to keep Sally out of the production?

But there are other problems in the ensemble. The scenes between Sally and Blankson-Wood’s Clifford cry out for an acting coach — not a thought I can remember having at a premium Broadway revival of a classic musical in recent seasons.

I was relieved whenever the dependable veterans of the company, Neuwirth and Steven Skybell in the role of Herr Schultz — were front and center. But Neuwirth’s diminished singing only accentuated the production's lackluster musicality — a weird irony given Neuwirth's Broadway pedigree.

The staging is at its best when it’s in circular motion. The choreography by Julia Cheng doesn’t aim to dazzle, but the fluidity is hypnotic nonetheless. The motley Kit Kat chorus crew adds ribald vibrancy to the swirl.

Redmayne is the reason to see this production, though as captivating as his performance is, he cannot rescue this misguided revival on his own. I’m also not entirely clear on how Frecknall is interpreting the Emcee’s role. The character’s queer vulnerability — the sense of a last gasp of misfit sexual freedom before the Nazis kill the party — is lost in the shuffle of the political menace that Redmayne begins to reflect in costuming and affect that become ever more expressionistic.

The Nazi peril is treated a touch too decoratively, though when Ernst Ludwig (a convincing Henry Gottfried), a newfound German friend of Clifford with questionable business dealings, takes off his coat and reveals a swastika armband the audience emits a collective sound of shock. But otherwise, the emotional impact of the story is nil.

Musically, the effect is even less. Usually, when Sally belts “Maybe This Time” in the first act, I never want the moment to end. Not here. Normally, I have to restrain myself from answering the title-song summons as the show moves toward its big finish. (What good is sitting alone in your room or anywhere for that matter with music this glorious in the world?) Sadly, in this grating rendition, I was recoiling from the din of a two-bit cabaret floozy and glancing at my watch.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .