"I am neither male nor female, even though both genders are derived from my nature. If I choose to appear to you as a man or a woman, it's because I love you. For me to appear to you as a woman and suggest that you call me 'Papa' is simply to mix metaphors, to help you keep from falling so easily back into your religious conditioning."
One of the most controversial aspects of Young's novel is that two of the three parts of the Trinity are portrayed as women, at least when Mack first arrives at the shack. Young has been clear in interviews and writing since the publication of The Shack that this was done to show the way God's traditional portrayal as male reinforces the patriarchal system within Christianity and may make it difficult for some people to connect personally with God. While some called this move heretical, others applauded Young for his bold choices.
In this quote, Papa makes the point that God has no gender; the male figure people generally imagine is a social construct that stems from the dominance of men in early Christianity. Since Papa knows part of Mack's lack of connection with God comes from his traumatic relationship with his father, Papa chooses a motherly figure instead to lead Mack back to a relationship of trust and love. Later, when Papa feels Mack is ready, she appears in male form, which should be seen not as a reversion to normal but as another choice based on what Mack needs to see and feel.
"Does freedom mean that you are allowed to do whatever you want to do? Or we could talk about all the limiting influences in your life that actively work against your freedom. Your family genetic heritage, your specific DNA, your metabolic uniqueness, the quantum stuff that is going on at a subatomic level where only I am the always-present observer. Or the intrusion of your soul's sickness that inhibits and binds you, or the social influences around you, or the habits that have created synaptic bonds and pathways in your brain. And then there's advertising, propaganda, and paradigms. Inside that confluence of multifaceted inhibitors...what is freedom really?"
One of Mack's main questions of God during his time at the shack is whether God could have prevented Missy's abduction and death. God's response throughout the book is that it pains God as well to see humans causing one another to suffer, but that God decided to give humans free will so that they could have the ability to form genuine relationships with God. In this quote, Papa challenges Mack's understanding of freedom in order to help him understand the complex network of factors that shape how events transpire. While God does give humans the freedom to make choices, they are not "free" in the sense of unconstrained by circumstances. Biology, culture, and many other factors influence what they can do. In writing this quote, Young appeals to credibility by using scientific jargon like "synaptic bonds," but keeps less science-minded readers engaged with layman's terms like "quantum stuff" and "soul's sickness."
"We are not three gods, and we are not talking about one god with three attitudes, like a man who is a husband, father, and worker. I am one God and I am three persons, and each of the three is fully and entirely the one."
Since Young originally wrote The Shack as a gift for his family, especially his children, and a few close friends, a lot of the book is concerned with the way Young himself has come to understand God and religion. Since Young believes that religion is based primarily on relationship with God and with other humans, he demonstrates in this quote and throughout the book how the Trinity allows God to be comprised of three equals in perfect relationship. Mack has trouble understanding how Papa, Sarayu, and Jesus can all be one God but also have such distinct properties, even after Papa explains using this quote, which suggests to readers that it is okay if they don't completely understand God.
"You become the judge. And to make things more confusing, that which you determine to be good will change over time and circumstance. And then, beyond that and even worse, there are billions of you, each determining what is good and what is evil. So when your good and evil clash with your neighbor's, fights and arguments ensue and even wars break out...if there is no reality of good that is absolute, then you have lost any basis for judging. It is just language, and one might as well exchange the word good for the word evil."
Throughout The Shack, Mack tries to cope with Missy's death and understand how God allowed it to happen. In addition to coming to understand God giving people free will, Mack is also taught to recognize the way he has used his subjective perceptions to judge people and events. Papa, Sarayu, and Sophia all converse with Mack about there being no such thing as bad or evil. In this quote, Sarayu specifically points out that individuals' different, conflicting views of what is wrong is one of the main causes of arguments and wars. In the end, this helps Mack to forgive God, himself, and even the Little Ladykiller for Missy's death. This quote also connects to a later moment in the text where Sarayu contrasts living by nouns with living by verbs, showing how the words people use influence the way they perceive the world.
"Our earth is like a child who has grown up without parents, having no one to guide and direct her...Some have attempted to help her, but most have simply tries to use her. Humans, who have been given the task to lovingly steer the world, instead plunder her, with no consideration other than their immediate needs. And they give little thought to their own children, who will inherit their lack of love. So they use her and abuse her with little consideration, and then when she shudders or blows her breath, they are offended and raise their fists at God."
In this quote, Jesus emphasizes points from conversations Mack has already had with Papa about free will; God does not enjoy seeing humans suffer, but the suffering comes from humans wielding power over one another rather than anything God has done. This quote is particularly interesting because of the female pronouns being used to describe the earth. While Papa taking a female form was a controversial part of Young's novel, the earth has long been described as female (like the term Mother Earth in English and the female name Gaia in Greek mythology). Using these pronouns in the quote, for example in the phrase "use her and abuse her," makes Jesus's points about the destruction of the world sound more sinister, aggressive, and personal.
"But as for 'Is any of this real?' Far more real that you can imagine." Jesus paused for a moment to get Mack's full attention. "A better question might be, 'What is real?'''
"I'm beginning to think that I have no idea," Mack offered.
"Would all this be any less 'real' if it were inside a dream?"
"I think I'd be disappointed."
"Why? Mack, there is far more going on here than you have the ability to perceive. Let me assure you, all of this is very much real, far more real than life as you've known it."
This quote is one of the only hints within the text that the story of The Shack is not true. The Foreword and Afterword of The Shack tell the reader that the story Young narrates is taken from a friend's experiences. However, Young has acknowledged in interviews that the book is meant to be a parable about his own journey to religious belief and relationship. In this quote, Jesus argues that it is not important whether an experience, or perhaps in a literary way a story, must be true to be "real" or important. That is to say, if an experience or story brings one closer to understanding or relationship, it has value beyond whether it really happened.
"I've been talking to you for a long time, but today was the first time you could hear it, and all those other times weren't a waste either. Like little cracks in the wall, one at a time but woven together, they prepared you for today. You have to prepare the soil if you want it to embrace the seed."
Once Mack comes to feel more trusting and comfortable with God, he starts to wonder whether God was with him before and whether God will continue to be with him after he leaves the shack. In this quote, Jesus assures Mack that he was always with him, even at times when Mack did not feel connected to God or religion. The quote is also encouraging for those who are going through a difficult or time-consuming process, whether this process is spiritual or not, since it acknowledges that small steps can lead to big changes.
"You're talking about the church as this woman you're in love with; I'm pretty sure I haven't met her." He turned away slightly. "She's not the place I go on Sundays," Mack said, more to himself than to Jesus, unsure if that was safe to say out loud.
"Mack, that's because you're seeing only the institution, a man-made system. That's not what I came to build. What I see are people and their lives, a living, breathing community of all those who love me, not building and programs."
The Shack challenges the idea that the most important religious duty is to attend church, teaching the reader that they must constantly and personally engage with God. This is a message that would be welcome to those who struggle to find time for church or struggle to feel connected with their religious community. However, some clergy and Christian leaders did not appreciate Young criticizing the Church in this way. Another interesting layer to this quote is female pronouns again being attached to an element of religion, church, that does not have a biological gender; this parallels Papa and Sarayu appearing as female and the earth being referred to with female pronouns in an earlier quote. In this case, the use of female pronouns emphasizes the intimate relationship between Jesus and the church, meaning directly between Jesus and his followers.
"Those who love me have come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims; some are Democrats, some Republicans and many don't vote or are not part of any Sunday morning or religious institutions. I have followers who were murderers and many who were self-righteous. Some are bankers and bookies, Americans and Iraqis, Jews and Palestinians. I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughter of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters, into my Beloved."
Many Christian leaders who criticized The Shack have pointed to this section of the book when accusing Young of practicing Universalism. Since many Christians believe that non-Christians cannot be saved without converting, this quote coming from Jesus can be seen as an attack on their exclusivity and attempts to convert people of other faiths. This quote also challenges the contemporary intersection of religion and politics, particularly the belief that Christians, especially evangelical Christians, must be politically conservative.
"Honey, you're a survivor. No shame in that. Your daddy hurt you something fierce. Life hurt you. Lies are one of the easiest places for survivors to run. They give you a sense of safety, a place where you have to depend only on yourself. But it's a dark place, isn't it?"
A large part of Young's own struggle with religion came from the author having experienced sexual abuse as a child. After decades, Young came to find strength and comfort in religion, and he has written about how The Shack is meant to show this painful but eventually worthwhile process to others. In this quote, Papa chides Mack for lying to his wife about going to the shack and to himself about his reasons for doing so. Papa acknowledges that many lies are told to protect oneself from negative emotions or confrontation, but encourages Mack to live in truthful relationship with God, his family, and himself.
