I met with two very unusual men at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent these past two weeks. One is Ben, an 18 year-old self-proclaimed Kent gang member. The other is Alex, a 33 year-old cocaine addict. I was privileged to share "the greatest news they will ever hear," the gospel good news, with both.
Ben even wrote out several gang signs with his name and identity for me. As we shared the Romans Road and related Scripture texts together, I witnessed a clearly visible transformation of his spirit. I will be visiting with him later this week to see how he is progressing with the verses I asked him to read and answer his questions.
About two years ago, I read "The Shack," and enjoyed it as fiction although I was deeply troubled with several theological issues. While it has several really great scenes, I've become more alert to significant troubling issues other bloggers helped me clarify.
This mass adoration for this novel has helped seemingly cement William Paul Young's "The Shack" to the stratosphere of numerous best-sellers list--where it's remained for more than 100 weeks--a claim no other book can make.
Yet it is infused with counterfeit Christianity, says author Dr. James De Young in his new book, "Burning Down 'The Shack': How the 'Christian' Bestseller is Deceiving Millions," and its depiction of God the Father as an African woman who bore the scars of Calvary with Jesus Christ is just one example of its many dangerous deceptions.
Dr. De Young was my New Testament Language and Literature professor at Western Seminary in Portland, Ore., and a former longtime colleague of Paul Young, and was his Portland-area neighbor when Young wrote The Shack.
In April of 2004, De Young attended a Christian think tank and there Young presented a 103-page paper which presented a defense of universal reconciliation, a Christian form of universalism—the view that at some point every person will come to a right relationship with God.
If they do not do this before they die, God will use the fires of hell to purge away (not punish, mind you) any unbelief. Eventually even Satan and his fallen angels will be purged of sin and all of creation will be fully and finally restored. This is to say that after death there is a second chance, and more than that, a complete inevitability, that all people will eventually repent and come to full relationship with God.
De Young believes that Young’s belief in universal reconciliation is absolutely crucial to anyone who would truly wish to understand The Shack. It is the key that makes sense of the book and the theology it contains. Though far from the only theological problem with the book, it is the one that makes sense of the others.
Approaching me as I was leaving the unit, Alex begged me to talk to him about needing the Lord and straightening out his life.
He said, "I want to do what is right but I lie, cheat, swear, and steal. I just get into trouble all the time. Can you help me?"
As so often I experience, despite his reading and spelling level being very low, he was really working hard at it. When we got to 1 John 5:11-12 and 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 he was marking his Bible carefully and was in tears.
Both men took the first steps in receiving Christ, or made positive responses to the gospel. Chaplain Dick met with Alex later in the day to follow-up. I often follow-up with men he has shared with. Then, we debrief together.
About two years ago, I read "The Shack," and enjoyed it as fiction although I was deeply troubled with several theological issues. While it has several really great scenes, I've become more alert to significant troubling issues other bloggers helped me clarify. This mass adoration for this novel has helped seemingly cement William Paul Young's "The Shack" to the stratosphere of numerous best-sellers list--where it's remained for more than 100 weeks--a claim no other book can make.
Yet it is infused with counterfeit Christianity, says author Dr. James De Young in his new book, "Burning Down 'The Shack': How the 'Christian' Bestseller is Deceiving Millions," and its depiction of God the Father as an African woman who bore the scars of Calvary with Jesus Christ is just one example of its many dangerous deceptions.
Dr. De Young was my New Testament Language and Literature professor at Western Seminary in Portland, Ore., and a former longtime colleague of Paul Young, and was his Portland-area neighbor when Young wrote The Shack.
From Tim Challies’s review of Professor James De Young’s book-length review, entitled Burning Down the Shack:
In April of 2004, De Young attended a Christian think tank and there Young presented a 103-page paper which presented a defense of universal reconciliation, a Christian form of universalism—the view that at some point every person will come to a right relationship with God.
If they do not do this before they die, God will use the fires of hell to purge away (not punish, mind you) any unbelief. Eventually even Satan and his fallen angels will be purged of sin and all of creation will be fully and finally restored. This is to say that after death there is a second chance, and more than that, a complete inevitability, that all people will eventually repent and come to full relationship with God.
De Young believes that Young’s belief in universal reconciliation is absolutely crucial to anyone who would truly wish to understand The Shack. It is the key that makes sense of the book and the theology it contains. Though far from the only theological problem with the book, it is the one that makes sense of the others.
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