“I have no desire to make them Christian,” “Jesus Christ” says in a blockbuster book that’s described as “Christian.”
And when the narrator of the book mourns how people have “sold out to religious activity and patriotism,” Jesus smiles as He states, “Those who love me come from every system that exists.”
The dialogue is excerpted from “The Shack,” a best-selling book about to premiere as a major movie of the same name.
The New York Times best-seller claims to help people understand the nature of God.
But one critic who knows both the book and its author well says “The Shack” actually it is leading people away from the Christian faith.
James De Young, a New Testament language and literature professor at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, wrote “Burning Down The Shack” to challenge the claims made in the book. He argues “The Shack” is trying to redefine what Christianity is.
Is one of the most successful “Christian” books in history actually promoting anti-Christian beliefs? Don’t be fooled. Find out the terrible true story behind “The Shack” and uncover the heretical doctrines being promoted. Your soul could be at stake. “Burning Down The Shack” by James DeYoung, available now in the WND Superstore.
“It is not for me to define who is a Christian, and in truth only God knows who is,” he cautions. “But we should go to the Bible for the definition. The Bible says that to become a child of God, to be born again, means to put my personal faith and trust in the person of Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and who rose from the grave and lives for evermore. Texts such as John 1:12-13; 3:3-8; 14:6; Romans 6:23; 10:9-10 give the clearest guidance of who a Christian is. These texts identify who are followers of Jesus Christ, who are first called Christians in Acts 11:26.”
De Young argues many supposed “Christians” are not following the Bible. As result, many who accept the label of “Christians” can’t really be called “Christian” in any meaningful sense.
“It is a sad reality that many who profess to be Christians have rejected the authority of the Bible on this matter and many others,” he said. “To be a Christian means one must accept Jesus Christ as his or her personal savior and obey Him. Further, many Christians are biblically illiterate and are unaware that they may have embraced heresy – doctrines that are opposed to what Jesus and the Apostles taught. Christians need to possess discernment in order to avoid these destructive doctrines and the spiritual danger they engender.”
Among the most destructive ideas is that of “universal reconciliation,” the idea all people will ultimately be reconciled to God. Of course, if this is true, then there is no hell, no need for repentance and really no need for faith anyway.
WND Founder Joseph Farah denounced the tendency to deny the reality of sin in his newest book, “The Restitution of All Things.”
Farah wrote:
“People don’t want to be accountable for their sin – even those who call themselves Christians. One way of being unaccountable for sin is to deny it exists. That’s what atheists do. That’s what people who say the Bible is a fairy tale do. But increasingly, that’s what too many who call themselves Christians do as well – often seizing on the teachings of contemporary pastors and authors who don’t mind leading people to hell if it helps them build a popular and prosperous megachurch.”
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De Young claims William Paul Young, the author of “The Shack,” has embraced this heretical doctrine.
“When Paul Young presented his paper to our forum in 2004, in which he rejected his ‘evangelical paradigm’ and embraced universal reconciliation, he asked me, after I had raised several questions and concerns: ‘Jim, do you believe that I am a Christian?’ I answered: ‘Paul, the Bible says that the only thing one must do to become a Christian is to accept Jesus Christ as one’s personal Savior, and live in obedience to him.’
“Thus it is not surprising that Paul Young himself wants to redefine who is a Christian and who in ‘The Shack’ has Jesus say that he doesn’t desire to make anyone a Christian on page 182. This is typical universalist speech.”
For that reason, De Young urges Christians to read “Burning Down The Shack” and become discerning about the spiritual danger presented by “universal reconciliation” and the other teachings in “The Shack.”
“So first, Paul Young doesn’t want to be known as a Christian,” De Young laments. “Second, Jesus warned of those who would profess to be his followers but are inwardly deceiving, ravenous wolves heading for spiritual destruction because they do not bear good fruit and do what he says, as cited in Matthew 7:13-27. Jesus and the Apostles teach what a follower of Jesus must believe about God, Jesus, judgment, and eternal destiny.”
De Young believes “The Shack” and its author do not follow these beliefs. Therefore, he says boldly, “The Shack” cannot be called a Christian book, nor can its author.
“If a person rejects all of these truths or redefines them in ways that contradict what Jesus and the Apostles say, as ‘The Shack’ teaches, then that person’s claim to be a follower of the Lord Jesus is false – so Jesus said in Matthew 7:23,” stated De Young.
De Young believes the American church is in crisis. The answer, he argues, is repentance.
“We must return via repentance, revival and renewal to the teaching of the Bible,” he said. “We must acknowledge it as authoritative in all beliefs and practices that Christians believe and do. This is the thrust of the Protestant Reformation, now celebrating its 500th anniversary. Without submitting to the authority of the Bible the Gospel is distorted and everyone becomes his own authority for what he believes and does – the end result of which is to lead many to destruction, as it says in Matthew 7:13-14. But it is uncertain that this renewal will occur apart from some external pressure such as persecution or a national calamity or international threat.
“I hope the church can rise to the challenge.”
Is one of the most successful “Christian” books in history actually promoting anti-Christian beliefs? Don’t be fooled. Find out the terrible true story behind “The Shack” and uncover the heretical doctrines being promoted. Your soul could be at stake. “Burning Down The Shack” by James DeYoung, available now in the WND Superstore.