The Shack is the story of one man’s struggle to know God and understand reality in the face of horrible tragedy. Mackenzie Phillips (”Mack”) grew up alone and far from home from age 13, having run away after fatally poisoning his abusive, drunkard father. He marries a fine Christian woman and settles into a somewhat normal life, until he is suddenly faced with the abduction and brutal murder of his youngest daughter.

After struggling through severe depression for a few years, he mysteriously receives a note of invitation from God to meet Him at the scene of his daughter’s horrible death–a shack in the wilderness of Oregon. There he engages all three members of the Trinity in conversation and discovery about his own heart and the tragedy itself, which transforms his concept of God and of reality.

Unfortunately the book “paints an image of God” that is erroneous at best and blasphemous at worst. The Bible says that some, professing to be wise, actually become fools because they have “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man” (Romans 1:22-23). While admittedly a work of “fiction,” the author clearly intends to communicate truth about God, and therefore cannot be exempt from this biblical warning. Yet, even in the face of such obvious admonition, Young diminishes the reality, majesty and glory of the Godhead by depicting God the Father as a burly African-American woman with a crass sense of humor, the Holy Spirit as a slight, more aged, and almost translucent Asian woman, and Jesus (predictably, I suppose) as a bearded, middle-aged Jewish man outfitted like a carpenter (although the jeans, flannel shirt and tool belt gives even Jesus a curious bent).

Others have addressed the doctrinal issues fairly thorougly (read here for an excellent review). In addition to relating a few obvious doctrinal issues, I would like to address some of the problems, concerns and issues that need to be addressed about this book from a pastoral standpoint. Please read the whole post to hear my thoughts…

At Together for the Gospel, we received as a gift the book, The Truth of the Cross, by R.C. Sproul. At the conference, Sproul delivered a sobering presentation of the curse motif in the Gospel. Several of Sproul’s illustrations and points can be found in The Truth of the Cross.

In this review, I’ll provide a short summary and what I think are strengths and weaknesses of the book. Click here to read on.

This is a 32 page booklet on the Covenantal teaching on infant baptism. It was written by Bryan Chapell, the president of Covenant Theological Seminary (PCA) in St. Louis, MO.

I am not Covenantal, and I do not believe Scripture teaches infant baptism. I offer a short response to Chapell’s booklet.

Al Mohler writes chapter 3 titled, “Guarded Through Faith.” In his chapter he discusses the gift of assurance, the urgency of biblical warnings, and the doctrine of perseverance and the gift of assurance.

I will summarize his chapter and give my response.

Burk Parsons, minister of congregational life at Saint Andrew’s Chapel of Sanford, FL (where R.C. Sproul is the minister of preaching and teaching), edits this book dealing with assurance of salvation. Contributors include John MacArthur, Keith Mathison, Jerry Bridges, R.C. Sproul, Philip Ryken, Al Mohler, Richard Phillips, Sinclair Ferguson, and Joel Beeke. The line up is impressive.

My reading of this book is part of my preparation for a series I will be teaching at our church on the topic of “Assurance of Salvation.” I will summarize each chapter and then briefly provide my own response.