I’ve been involved in a discussion on Facebook about The Shack, William Young’s popular book. Though Young no doubt communicates some good things about God, in the end I’m not a big fan of the book. Most of the replies to my critiques have been skeptical.
After I asked, “where do we draw the line in how we portray God in fiction?” one woman replied:
I think the much more important question to ask is.. How do we portray God in REALITY? Let me give you a scenario. There is, in God’s family – the main flock of sheep. They see the Savior close up so they know much about Him and are obedient to stay with the group. They only see their Christ in this light. And they almost never see outside the flock. But there are other sheep. They are spread out in various lengths and degrees from the group. Christ will leave his flock in a heartbeat to be with these sheep and encourage them to come closer. The sheep in the group have NO AUTHORITY in knowing HOW or WHAT MEANS our Christ will use to encourage closeness with the sheep that are more distant from the group. I can assure you it is likely a far different format than the “obedient flock” would care to acknowledge. This book may spark interest for some in the distance to seek Him, He can handle the rest.
She seems to be suggesting that God can use any means He chooses in bringing people to Himself, so who are we to criticize this book, which He has used in accomplishing that? Even if she’s not saying that, it’s a popular way of thinking, so it bears examination here.
I can definitely agree with the first part of that statement. God can and does use a plethora of means, and not all of them we “in the flock” like! We should not try to have God bend to our preferences.
However, we need to be careful in where we take that truth. Does that mean that therefore we can preach the Gospel and speak of God any way we choose? In other words, does that give us carte blanche in what we say about God?
Obviously, the answer is “no.”
Let me illustrate.
One of my friends in college was brought to Christ by one of those old, judgmental, scrappy, bigoted campus preachers that almost everyone seeks to avoid. He depicted God as a wrathful, hateful, bloodthirsty aristocrat. But God used “brother Jed.” Does that mean that all bets are off and we can’t challenge how he portrayed God? No.
God can use bad apples and bad methodologies, but that doesn’t mean we should stand back and affirm said bad apples. In fact, time and time again in the Scriptures, God exhorts us to excellency in our ambassadorship. We should speak with salt, light, and grace, knowing how to answer everyone. If Paul encountered false theology, he minced no words.
This includes both our lifestyle, thoughts, and words.
The Holy Spirit will most certainly be honored more when our lives and words accurately reflect who He is! He can use the bad apples, but I’d think He’d much rather use the good ones.
In conclusion, we don’t have the authority to tell God who or what He can use, but we certainly do have reason, cause, and authority to exhort one another to be excellent ambassadors, theology and fiction included.
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