Hi fishtank,
You must have seen a different movie. My synopsis: the movie includes pain from sin, forgiveness, trusting God, why God allows bad things to happen to good people, blaming God, how depression affects family members, healing, and repairing relationships among others and more important, repairing your relationship with God. It tries to present a friendly, kind interpretation for the temperament of God rather than the one most people are accustom too. I was not pleased with the portrayal of Jesus who seemed more like a “cool dude to hang out with.” However, the family at the center of the story feels very real, and the movie was at times both charming and funny. It does recognize the Trinity (although incorrectly personified by human actors) and the atonement for sin. Yes, it has other shortcomings as well. The Shack has the potential to serve as a conversation starter about Christianity with those unfamiliar with the faith, or to get someone asking the right theological questions of Christian friends and pastors. It does a great job of presenting why tragedy occurs to good people, and how one should recover from undeserving events. Its not intended to be a summary of all the complex theological dogma that makes up Christianity today.
Is the movie flawed? Yes. Is it Heresy? Not in my opinion. Go enjoy the movie, then explore your understanding of God by researching the Bible and achieving a better understanding of God’s word. Its certainly better than watching the latest episode of Star Wars, or for that matter, almost anything else that comes out of Hollywood.
Thank-you, God Bless, and second it.
It is a starter in the Christian faith type of movie.