"Mack" Phillips has a powerful spiritual experience following the death of his daughter.
Is it possible to meet God? To converse with Jesus Christ? It is, according to William P. Young, author of The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity. Written in collaboration with Wayne Jacobsen and Brad Cummings, and published by Windblown Media, The Shack tells the story of a man’s spiritual experience following the kidnapping and murder of his six-year-old daughter.
A Tragic Weekend
“Mack” – Mackenzie Allen Phillips – has a beef with God. On Labor Day weekend, he has taken three of his children on a camping trip in the Pacific Northwest. While he and two of the children are distracted by a canoeing accident, Missy, 6, disappears. She had last been seen coloring at a picnic table. When the police investigate, they find evidence of her death in a shack in an isolated part of the mountains. They report that she is a victim of the “Little Ladykiller” – a serial killer who kidnaps girls under 10 and kills them. The shack becomes the site of an experience several years later for her father, Mack.
A Test of Faith?
One day, a few years following Missy’s death, Mack goes to his mailbox. Rage, confusion and a loss of faith, termed “The Great Sadness,” have overtaken him since the murder. In the mailbox, he finds a note. The note asks him to return to the shack for a meeting. It is signed, “Papa,” Mack’s wife’s pet name for God. At this point, the receipt of the note and Mack’s subsequent journey to the shack mark the turn of the book to the supernatural.
Spiritual Questions
It is here that Mack, and the book, strive to address serious questions. Who is God? Can God really appear in human form? According to the book, the answer is a resounding, “Yes.” Once Mack arrives at the shack, he meets spiritual beings who take the entire weekend to lead him away from “The Great Sadness,” and into healing. He meets the Holy Trinity – “Papa,” who appears as a large Black woman; Jesus Christ, who looks Middle Eastern, and Sarayu, an Asian woman. They spend time working in the garden, cooking and eating meals, and talking. Gradually, all his doubts, feelings and thoughts surface. How they are handled is key to the book.
To Believe, or Not?
Crucial to a book of this nature is the author’s ability to make the spiritual aspect believable to the reader. An example is the note that Mack finds in his mailbox. Can God actually write a note? Mack’s initial disbelief, inward-turned rage and sadness are ultimately turned to peace. Although there are some surprises that lend credence to the overall story, it may be difficult for readers to get past the shock of the events described.
The discussions with Mack are not always easy to understand, and take some thought. A person versed in 1980s New Age material might find the book easier going than someone who is not used to reading of encounters with spiritual beings. “For me to appear to you as a very large, white, grandfather figure with flowing beard, like Gandalf, would simply reinforce your religious stereotypes, and this weekend is not about reinforcing your religious stereotypes,” “Papa,” tells him. Clearly, neither is this book.
