Which God is found in The Shack?

Olson is a theologian (professor of theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University) and in this book he purportedly “views The Shack with a theologian’s eye and finds much sound truth. He delves into many of the significant issues raised by the book such as forgiving those who have done us great evil, how God acts in the world, how God is three persons in one and what difference this makes to us. While he offers his own criticisms of the book, he largely finds the truth about God in The Shack.” Of course it is strange that in a book offering a theologian’s eye he would say “Why do I think The Shack has something important to teach? The book rings true to my own experience.” This seems to directly contradict the publisher’s claim that he looks at this book as a theologian. Nevertheless, a few pages later he says that the book “communicates great truths about God that are both biblical and resonate with experience.” Throughout the book he dedicates some effort to both.

Within his book, Olson asks this perceptive question. “I wonder how many folks who say they really love The Shack even stopped to think about what they read there?” I have wondered the same. I have enjoyed interacting with many people, hundreds even, who have done that. But I fear that hundreds of thousands more have put little thought into what they have read. Olson stops to think about The Shack and points out some of what is good and some of what is bad. Unfortunately his own theology is suspect in some areas, leading this book to advocate some seriously flawed doctrine.