The Trinity in the Shack

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday.  This has never been an easy doctrine to explain.  The Trinity as such is not mentioned in scripture.  The whole notion was the creation of the early church.  There are many inadequate analogies but none that really work.

Then along comes the surprising best seller- The Shack- by William Young.  This book has created quite a stir.  It was a self-published attempt of a man trying to explain his faith to his kids.  Now it is a best seller.

The Shack addresses many topics including: forgiveness, the church, evil, knowledge, etc.  It was never intended to be a theological work.  But a significant portion of the book gives an interesting depiction of the Trinity.

The main character, Mack, meets God in a shack in eastern Oregon.  There is a story that leads up to this encounter but that is another whole thing.  When Mack arrives there is a large African American woman named Papa, a young Hebrew carpenter named (you guessed it) Jesus, and an Asian woman named Sarayu.  These are the three persons of the Trinity.  They are each part of the others, all one, and yet all three distinct individuals.

The Shack's depiction of the Trinity has caused quite a stir in religious circles.  The conservatives have had fits that any part of the Godhead is depicted as a woman.  Papa actually goes on at great length explaining to Mack that s/he is neither male nor female.  She expresses herself to him as a woman because he has a number of father issues to work through in his own life and she did not want those to interfere with their relationship.

The critics also complain because Papa, Jesus and Sarayu are all equal participants in this one God.  Some folks think there is a hierarchy in God with the Father being over the Son and Spirit and the Spirit being subordinate to the Son and Father.  There is not much agreement on this issue.

So the depiction of the Trinity in the Shack is provocative and interesting.  How does it fit with your image?   Do you even have an image?  Does the Trinity mean anything to you or to your personal faith?