EBN A Book that Became a Movie:The Shack by William Paul Young

In our library they have a display of "quick reads". These books are not especially short, but they are books that are in high demand and can only be checked out for seven days at a time with no renewal. I typically finish with plenty of time and return the book on my next library visit (usually Wednesdays), I got busy while reading this book and didn't get around to it till the day before it was do. I really wanted to finish it though so I swallowed the $.10/day fine and returned it three days late. Sometimes it's just worth it.

I saw a trailer for this movie and decided it was one I probably wouldn't be able to see. It starts out with the kidnaping and murder of a little girl who looks a little too close to my Penny. All stories like that, real of fiction, give me nightmares. I have a hard enough time sleeping without inviting horrifying dreams into my head. But a few weeks ago a friend was talking about the book and said it was really pretty good. I saw the book on display and decided I could give it a try. The beginning was heartbreaking, though kind of unrealistic. The whole rest of the book was a weekend the surviving father spends with God (aka Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu or the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost). The book sparked some interesting conversation, like what race do you think Heavenly Father is. The theological ideas in the book were interesting. What I found most interesting was that as I was reading it, I kept finding things that would ring true with me and other things that really just fell flat. It may be that I was just picking and choosing those things that fall inline with my own theological ideas, but I think it was more than just me. I think that the Spirit testifies of truth regardless of where it is coming from. Reading this book was like looking at the stars through a very cloudy sky; a lot of confused conjecture but little glimmers of genuine truth.

As interesting as the discussions of doctrine were, they were also kind of boring and felt forced. The best part of the whole story was the narrative. The story was beautiful and so relatable, regardless of personal circumstances. No matter who we are we all need healing of some sort, we all need to forgive and be forgiven, and we all need to find the love that comes in our relationship with our creator. I definitely didn't agree with all the ideas in this book, but the love expressed in it was thick and beautiful and I loved it.