God on Trial

Over the weekend I finished reading The Shack, a novel about which there has been a lot of hubbub in Christian circles recently.

My two-sentence review: Author William Young depicts God and his character in a way that will be largely old news to many readers, but radical for some; the questions he poses of God and about God should certainly provoke thought in all readers. Although the Shack is overly sappy and a bit patronizing at times, it definitely has its profound and provocative moments.

If you’ve read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Meanwhile, here’s one point that struck me…

An inappropriate question?

After finishing The Shack, I read a negative reaction to the book over at Boundless. The author of the review, Gary Thomas, challenges Young not only for providing inadequate (heretical?) answers, but for asking what he thinks are inappropriate questions. 

Our duty, says Thomas, is to accept the mystery of God, and there are certain questions we ought not ask: 

Job had a lot of questions to ask God, and he asked them in an impertinent manner. Instead of answering Job’s questions, as “Papa” does in The Shack, God responded, ‘Listen now, and I will speak. I will question you, and you shall answer me.’

Specifically, Thomas takes Young to task for putting God on trial in his book.

The narrator’s main contention against God is this (paraphrased): ‘You’ve created and/or allowed a world that has hurt me deeply; what do you have to say for yourself? Why should I believe in you anymore?’

Thomas criticizes The Shack for depicting God as being willing to answer those questions:

For 2,000 years, Christians have believed that God sent His Son because He put us on trial and found us wanting. The proper response of humans is, ‘I have sinned and fallen short of Your glory. Have mercy on me.’ Today’s believer and non-believer is far more likely to respond, ‘There’s evil in the world; God, if You really exist, explain Yourself!’

Ask humbly, but do ask

Sticky issues, methinks. 

It’s true, The Shack does come close to crossing the line in the way that it “channels” God, and Thomas has a point that impertinent questions are out of line. God is not obligated to answer our questions, and surely it can’t be right for us to try to hold the omnipotent God accountable for the way he runs his universe. (Even supposing He were in the wrong, there’s not much a pawn can do to the chessmaster, right?)

On the other hand, I think Thomas is too willing to shut down human questions. Biblically, there is nothing wrong with asking questions of God; God actually seems to handle it just fine. 

For example, although it’s true that God does appear to chide Job for being too cocky, it is also true that he still interacts with Job and engages his questions. Additionally, God defends Job against the latter’s friends, who, God says, “have not spoken of me what is right, as  my servant Job has” (Job 42:8).

Further, God was willing to take some rather “cheeky” questions from Abraham, Moses, David and others, and he never appears to be fazed by it. Quite the contrary, he seems to want to engage with his servants’ questions; he goes out of his way to invite them to dialogue (e.g. God’s conversation with Abraham before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Gen. 18; also his conversation with Moses about destroying the Israelites in Ex. 32:7-14).

So I’m not much in favor of a shut-up-and-do-whatever-God-tells-you-to-do mentality. That sort of blind obedience is not exactly the biblical model. Seems to me that God is fine with our questions, if we ask humbly.

But that’s a key word–humbly.

Personally, I think Young is respectful enough in his questions, although perhaps sometimes speculative or presumptive in his answers. Regardless, though, there’s definitely a fine line. Biblically, as Thomas points out, it is God who is the judge; He is not the defendant. That’s a point worth remembering.