all hype?

I've just finished the book The Shack... a book that seems to have had instant success in the US (NY Times bestseller/sold 1.7 million copies etc) and has been hotly debated all over parts of the blogosphere over the last year. It's recently been released here so it will be interesting to see if it will make any waves. I have to be honest, the only reason I read it was to see what the fuss is all about....not the best motivation! (Curiosity & controversy = successful marketing?). Conclusion? I thought it was just ok. Because I went into reading it with my sceptical hat on, I found loads of things that didn’t agree with; but maybe that meant I didn’t get into the book as a story/work of fiction. But to be fair, it is a theological perspective weaved into a very basic storyline (in my opinion!), so that’s how I read it. I appreciate some of the ideas the author wanted to put across about the God of love, the importance of relationship (not religion), not putting God in a box etc, but it only tells part of the story and I think parts of it incorrectly. I’m not going to expand – there are many, many reviews out there if you want to know more.

If people are reading it like it is an accurate revelation of what God is like and see the book as spiritual guide (ie: prayer of jabez fiasco etc), then I’m worried. If it’s another book that people read to critique / not swallow whole and to promote a healthy discussion about life/faith, bring it on. I’m not going to recommend it, but to be honest, I’m not going to say don’t read it either (unless you have no idea what you believe about anything - in that case, I'd start somewhere else!).