{"id":1636,"date":"2009-12-19T18:27:07","date_gmt":"2009-12-19T22:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=1636"},"modified":"2026-09-14T09:57:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T16:57:50","slug":"castles-in-the-sand-vs-the-shack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/castles-in-the-sand-vs-the-shack\/","title":{"rendered":"Castles in the Sand vs. The Shack"},"content":{"rendered":"

by John Lanagan
\nMy Word Like Fire<\/strong><\/p>\n

Castles in the Sand<\/em>, by Carolyn A. Greene,\u00a0looks like a novel and reads like a novel, but it is something far greater. It is a trumpet. It is intended to warn believers and non-believers about the dangers of contemplative spirituality. Perhaps, after reading this very interesting story, there will be those who turn away from contemplative prayer and other forms of anti-Biblical meditation.<\/p>\n

Perhaps.\u00a0Popular pastor Rick Warren now\u00a0openly\u00a0endorses contemplative spirituality.[1] It is tearing through the church and it is\u2026changing us. Its adherents follow the path of the desert fathers and mothers, who sought union with God in the meditative Silence where thoughts are stilled.<\/p>\n

As noted in \u2018Alcoholics Anonymous and Contemplative Spirituality,\u2019[2] \u201cRoger Oakland writes, \u2018When [someone] is introduced to meditation, which produces a feeling of euphoria and well-being, he mistakes this for the presence of God. And thus the foundation of his faith is not on Christ or the Word of God, but rather on this feeling.\u2019\u201d[3]<\/p>\n

The Bible tells us, \u201cNo wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.\u201d (2 Corinthians 11:14)<\/p>\n

Historically, around the world, much has been experienced in the meditative silence. Bliss. Spirit-guides. A higher self. Oneness. And there have been false \u201cchrists,\u201d wrapped in shining deception, communicating instructions and \u201cwisdom\u201d\u00a0to some.[4]<\/p>\n

You will meet such a false \u201cchrist\u201d in Castles in the Sand,\u00a0<\/em>encountered by the novel\u2019s heroine\u00a0through\u00a0the meditation she has learned in her \u201cspiritual formation\u201d classes. This is actually happening in numerous Christian colleges throughout the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n

When Paul Young had his first copies of\u00a0his novel, The Shack<\/em>, he went on the public speaking circuit. He is warm, charming, and funny, and people wanted to believe in his false version of \u201cgod.\u201d Click here to continue. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by John Lanagan My Word…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":18407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[35,2916,2923,72],"class_list":["post-1636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-shack","tag-rick-warren","tag-contemplative-spirituality","tag-the-shack","tag-christian-colleges","wpcat-66-id"],"yoast_head":"\nCastles in the Sand vs. The Shack - From the Lighthouse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/castles-in-the-sand-vs-the-shack\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Castles in the Sand vs. The Shack\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by John Lanagan My Word...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/castles-in-the-sand-vs-the-shack\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"From the Lighthouse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LighthouseTrailsResearch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-12-19T22:27:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-14T16:57:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/castlesfinal-e1789405064410.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"270\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Lanagan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@LTrails\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@LTrails\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Lanagan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/castles-in-the-sand-vs-the-shack\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/castles-in-the-sand-vs-the-shack\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"John Lanagan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d61c1dbf1a8fcbbb43b8b1925398e348\"},\"headline\":\"Castles in the Sand vs. The Shack\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-12-19T22:27:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-14T16:57:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/castles-in-the-sand-vs-the-shack\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":311,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/castles-in-the-sand-vs-the-shack\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/castlesfinal-e1789405064410.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Rick Warren\",\"Contemplative Spirituality\",\"The Shack\",\"Christian colleges\"],\"articleSection\":[\"The Shack\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/castles-in-the-sand-vs-the-shack\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/castles-in-the-sand-vs-the-shack\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\\\/blog\\\/castles-in-the-sand-vs-the-shack\\\/\",\"name\":\"Castles in the Sand vs. The Shack - 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