Just a few weeks ago Cru gave an non-endorsement/endorsement of the movie The Shack and even put together some study questions in the hopes that The Shack would be a great evangelism tool to introduce unbelieving friends and neighbors to Christianity. Now that the movie has been released how has the pagan world received The Shack? Have they thoughtfully begun considering becoming Christians as a result of this movie?

It would appear that the answer is an emphatic NO!

Here are just some of the reviews of the movie offered by secular critics:

"It's one of those movies where you'll either decide to give in right away and sob for two hours straight or opt to fight it while your resentment slowly simmers to a rolling boil." — Entertainment Weekly

"The Shack" wants to be a sincere exploration of faith and forgiveness but somehow manages to be both too innocuous and too off-putting for its own good. Since its publication, 'The Shack' has engendered a good deal of controversy within the Christian community for interpreting both the Bible and the Holy Trinity in ways that some consider to be heretical. Based on a viewing of the movie, I would label those charges to be nonsense; to be truly heretical would require a more cogent level of thinking than the awkward plotting and empty-headed New Agey koans offered up here." — Peter Sobczynski

"The Shack" is a grief-packed journey through loss, bargaining and acceptance that feels like an overly long church sermon." - Detroit News

"Most of its running time is taken with mollifying conversations between Mack and the movie’s New Age-meets-Bible Belt oversimplifications of the Holy Trinity. It fits right into a long tradition of quasi-mystical pseudo-parables." — AV Club

"copious amount of cinematic flaws that actually render it borderline incoherent and an absolute chore to sit through." — CinemaBlend.com

If you were thinking that The Shack would be a great discussion facilitator so that your pagan friends would be interested in becoming Christians, think again. You have a greater chance of annoying your pagan friends with The Shack than starting a meaningful conversation about Christ and Him Crucified for their sins.

If you want to evangelize your friends and neighbors use the Bible and one of the four Gospels in the New Testament.  The Apostle John even says that the reason he penned his Gospel was for the purpose of evangelism, "these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31) Plus, if you share one of the Four Gospels with your pagan friends you don't have to worry about them being taught heretical doctrine. The same cannot be said about The Shack.

BTW Jorey Micah hates this critique of The Shack and thinks that it is racist and sexist ;-)~