Thirteen Heresies in The Shack, written by Michael Youssef addresses 13 concerns with the novel and movie, and what the Bible has to say about them:
1. God the Father was crucified with Jesus.
Spiritual Deception
Jesus said on the Mount of Olives (Matt. 24) that deception would be the primary cultural sign of the last days. Even some of God’s “elect” might be deceived by false theologies. “Good would be called evil and evil good” (Isaiah 5:20). Men would substitute light for darkness and darkness for light. Apostasy would consume churches and denominations that were once solid.
Jesus (Is Not) Calling
Jesus Calling has been a best-seller, a 365-day devotional study written by Sarah Young. She claims Jesus spoke to her and she wrote down the words compiling a book. And an unsuspecting Christian community is buying it hook, line and sinker.
It’s sold over three million copies, and the publisher has released Jesus Calling for Kids, Jesus Calling for Teens and a Jesus Calling Devotional Bible.
The attraction to Christians seems mostly due to the dramatic and emotional wording by using Jesus said in the first person. Young ropes in her readers by claiming she is passing along Jesus’ words to her. But they can’t be equated with Jesus’ words.
How Do We Identify a False Prophet?
Jesus in His Olivet Discourse warned that in the end times false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive. Three times in Matthew 24 Jesus made that warning.
Why “The SHACK” Is Blasphemous
Due to the intense story, for most readers it causes a flood of emotions to well up inside, masking the theological errors throughout the book. We didn’t recommend reading the book when we reviewed it it 2008 (1), nor do we recommend seeing the movie that is coming out in March. Here’s why: