Finding God in the Shack - Session #5

This morning, my Thursday bible study continued a study on the best selling novel, "The Shack." We're using the resource, "Finding God in the Shack" by Roger E. Olson which examines the approach the novel takes in explaining how a good, loving, and all powerful God can allow suffering and evil in the world and a creative approach to understanding the doctrine of the Trinity.

Here are the highlights from today's session:

• Part of the novel focuses on the inclusive nature of God and how it borders on universalism (the belief that all will eventually be saved.) The novel emphasizes that we sometimes have a narrow view of who is in and who is out regarding salvation.
• One example of scripture which supports this more inclusive view of salvation include John 10:16 in which Jesus says, "And I have sheep that are not of this fold."
• The novel tends to have a negative view toward organized religion. While not discounting the several examples of how churches can be dysfunctional, I take issue with any attempt to differentiate our spiritual lives from church structure/politics. A church needs both the missional component as well as the structural component for long term health. Sure, we sometimes get these out of balance, but I also don't think that it should be either/or.
• The author of "Finding God in the Shack" takes issue with the novel's lack of emphasis upon the role of the church in the life of the Christian. People in my bible study pointed out that since the novel isn't meant to be a systematic book of theology, that just because references to the importance of the church are absent doesn't mean that it is not important to the author of the novel.
• There are good reasons and bad reasons for not participating in the church. The author of "Finding God in the Shack" states that too many people leave or quit attending a church for inadequate reasons. Most of the time, people leave simply because the church doesn't meet their needs in the way they expect. However, the role of the church is to help us to serve and be involved in ministry. The primary purpose of the church isn't to meet our needs.
• Part of the reason why our culture (and the novel) seems to deemphasize the role of the organized church is because western culture prides itself in individualism.
• The main character in the novel, Mack, had a really negative experience with the organized church. One of the problems of the novel is that it doesn't speak on behalf of Christians who have and/or are part of healthy and functional churches. Maybe this is why I am uncomfortable with the novel's attempt to differentiate between spirituality and the organized church. It's because my experience with the church has for the most part, been very positive. Sure, there have been examples of Christians behaving badly in the church here and there, but I'm positive that my faith wouldn't be as strong as it is today if I didn't have positive experiences with the organized church over the course of my lifetime.

Next Thursday, we will conclude our study on "The Shack."