The upcoming film adaptation of William P. Young's 2007 novel, The Shack, casted Oscar winner Octavia Spencer as God in a powerful story about rediscovering faith after loss. Since the release of the film's casting, notable members of the Christian faith such as fellow author James B. De Young, show skepticism around God's onscreen identity and the universalistic beliefs portrayed as Christianity.
Photo: The Shack
The book version has reportedly sold about 20 million copies and has been translated to 39 different languages. With a release date of March 2017 and worldwide promotion underway, The Shack could potentially bring in impressive box office earnings, but it may a bit early to tell.
The plot is centered around Mack Phillips, a father whose life is changed drastically after the presumed death of his young daughter in an abandoned shack. After years have gone by, he receives a note to return to the shack from "Papa" (also known as God, played by Octavia Spencer). Phillips' journey of forgiveness begins once he returns to the location to also find a young Asian woman named Sarayu, portrayed as the Holy Spirit (Japanese actress Sumire Matsubara) and Jesus (played by Israeli actor Aviv Alush).
Joe Schimmel, pastor of Blessed Hope Chapel in Simi Valley, California and host of the documentary Hollywood’s War on God, told Christian News Network that the Young's depiction of God and the Holy Spirit was "pretentious" and "lends itself to a dangerous and false image of God and idolatry." Though scripture has described God as "He" (The Father), as well as the Son and Holy Spirit, God's image has been questioned and illustrated in numerous ways for decades. Still, more conservative Christians think this concept is a strict tether that should not be tainted or tampered with.
One scholar declares the feminist movement as a hindering device for Young's decision to have a female God in The Shack, claiming the existence of "feminist pressure to image God in feminine ways." She argues that the once-detested notion which was seen as Gnostic heresy in the New Testament Church is resurfacing. Her dissertation serves mostly as a warning for those erring on the side of liberal Christian views.
De Young believes that The Shack strikes against the very fabric of Christian belief, stating that "ultimately there’s no divine Savior and Lord, because if people including the devil and his angels get into Heaven, there’s no cross left to preach." He and other critics seem to believe that an all-forgiving God, a God without judgment for sinners nor a Hell to banish them to dispels the "uniqueness of the gospel message."
But the one looming question for all of us who happen to be non-white, non-conservative Christians still remains: if we are supposedly made in the image of the most high, how is any depiction of God inaccurate?
Watch the trailer for 'The Shack' below:
