Can a big, jovial black woman - "Papa" - represent God the Father? Heretical or heroic as a concept?
Rev. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention, devoted most of a radio show to the book, calling it "deeply troubling" and asserting that it undermined orthodox Christianity.
Others, such as Bill Ritchie, radio host and senior pastor of the 8,000-member nondenominational Crossroads Community Church in Vancouver, Wash., have been more positive after some initial skepticism.
If you are a parishioner at St. Lawrence Roman Catholic Church or a congregant at St. John's United Church - or perhaps just an avid reader looking for a book club home - that's just one of the questions you may find yourself soon mulling over soon and deciding for yourself.
Rev. Leslie-Elizabeth King, pastor of St. John's on Caribou Road, and Sister Andrea Dumont, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph religious order, who spent 14 years in Guatemala and since returning to Canada has lived in Grand Rapids, Easterville and Thompson, focusing her work mainly in adult education at the nearby St. Lawrence Centre on Cree Road, have teamed up to kick off the fall reading club season with William P. Young's book The Shack, a very dark but ultimately redemptive tale.
It was published by two former pastors at Windblown Media in Newbury Park, California, a company formed expressly in May 2007 to publish the book with a $300 marketing budget, after being written by Young, a Oregon manufacturer's representative for a technology company by day and hotel night clerk in Gresham, Ore., who did some website design work on the side. It's now going into something like week number 46 on the New York Times paperback trade fiction bestsellers list in the Number 3 spot.
King says, "Sister Andrea and I are going to do the study on The Shack as a tag team. She will lead a group in the afternoon and I will lead one on Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. here at St. John's. The St. John's sessionswill be part of the Unity Book Club. The book is a very good exploration of many popular ideas about God and God's part in our lives. In an unusual way it is very down to earth and the way it explores Christian beliefs is rooted in our human experiences.
The first session with Sister Andrea kicks off at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8 - the day after Labour Day - and then moves to Mondays at 1 p.m. afterwards.
The Unity Book Club will be tackling The Shack initially two days later at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10 at St. John's United Church and continue on Thursdays evenings.
King launched the Unity Book Club, known last year initially as the Unity Reading Club, on Sept. 11, 2008 at St. John's United Church to explore popular writings about spirituality.
They kicked off last year's book season with A New Earth: Awakening to YourLife's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle, 61, the best-selling author and German-born spiritual speaker, who is also the author of The Power of Now in 1997.
Tolle, who lives in Vancouver, was born in Lünen, Germany. He began but never completed a doctorate degree and details about his educational background and personal life have remained murky, although Oprah Winfrey has heavily promoted him.
