Since “The Shack” came out in theaters, there has been a lot of debate over whether or not the film can really be deemed “Christian.”
The movie focuses on a man named Mack who, after experiencing a rough childhood and a poor relationship with his father, has very little faith in God. At the beginning of the movie Mack and his family go on a camping trip where his youngest daughter is kidnapped and murdered in a shack in the woods. After years of grieving, Mack receives a letter from God instructing him to return to the shack, where he meets God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Trinity helps Mack heal the wounds left by the loss of his daughter so he can forgive and help his family grieve.
The controversy surrounding the movie stems from the diversity in which the characters are presented. While Jesus is presented as a Middle-Eastern man, God the Father is portrayed as an African American woman called “Papa,” and eventually as a Native American man and the Holy Spirit is presented as an Asian woman named Sarayu.
The controversy with this is not necessarily the way in which the Trinity was presented, but that the movie attempted at all to do the impossible: describe an indescribable God.
However, is it fair to describe a movie as heretical for attempting to show the love of the Father to those who may not know Him?
It seems some people don’t like the way the movie was made because it is not the way they were taught to understand it, but scripture tells us that God’s thoughts are higher than ours. Why are we so concerned with the gender of a depiction of God, when in the Bible He clearly tells us He has no gender?
Whether or not you agree with the character choices made in the movie, there is something bigger we as Christians should be worried about: We aren’t the only ones watching.
The theater seats aren’t just filled with believers whispering about whether or not Octavia Spencer was the right choice to play God. The seats are also filled with non-believers whose first exposure to Jesus will be through this movie.
By spending our time arguing about whether or not the Holy Spirit can be a woman, we are missing the point of the entire movie, and missing an opportunity to teach others about the love of Jesus.
The story does an excellent job of portraying real-life faith issues in a nondenominational way that can be seen as relatable to everyone. Throughout the story, Mack is faced with feelings of betrayal, loneliness and abandonment, and it takes him the entire movie to see God’s love through the tragedy.
People are faced with these situations everyday; after an enormous tragedy or hardship, not everyone suddenly forgives God and has closure about what happened.
Instead of arguing over the aspects of the movie we cannot change, we should celebrate the truths and use them as moments to teach our brothers and sisters, and foster their relationships with Christ.
As believers, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to teach others about God in all circumstances, not just the ones we find completely agreeable.