{"id":22578,"date":"2017-04-29T12:34:14","date_gmt":"2017-04-29T16:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=22578"},"modified":"2026-07-09T13:48:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T20:48:21","slug":"the-shacks-universal-papa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/the-shacks-universal-papa\/","title":{"rendered":"The Shack\u2019s Universal Papa"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Warren B. Smith<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

There is nothing new about saying, \u201cI am God.” . . . However, in the Judeo-Christian-Moslem world, God is usually not popularly understood as a universal presence<\/strong>, the ground of all being.<\/strong>1 \u2014New Age leader David Spangler (emphasis added)<\/p>\n

\n

God, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things [a universal presence]<\/strong>2\u2014The Shack\u2019s<\/em> \u201cJesus\u201d defining \u201cPapa\u201d as a universal New Age God (emphasis added)<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2018m not who you think I am<\/strong>, Mackenzie.\u201d3\u2014Papa, The Shack <\/em>(emphasis added)<\/p>\n

\n<\/blockquote>\n

Shared Universal Presence<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ask certain indigenous peoples of the South Pacific Islands who Papa is, and they will tell you she<\/em> is a female goddess4\u2014just like The Shack\u2019s<\/em> female Papa. Ask certain Haitians, New Orleanians, and Wiccans who are into Voodoo, and they will tell you that Papa is a shapeshifting \u201ctrickster\u201d who can appear as either a male or female deity\u2014just like The Shack\u2019s<\/em> Papa.5 And if you ask, they will all tell you that their Papas are universal Papas\u00a0who dwell \u201cin, around, and through all things\u201d\u2014just like The Shack\u2019s<\/em> Papa.<\/p>\n

\"\"
From L to R: Avraham Aviv Alush as “Jesus,” Sumire as “Sarayu,” Sam Worthington as “Mack” and Octavia Spencer as “Papa” in THE SHACK. Photo by Jake Giles Netter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Papa as Earth Mother<\/strong>
\nShack<\/em> enthusiasts should take note that \u201cPapa\u201d is also the name of a Polynesian Earth goddess who is part of a pantheon of gods and goddesses found in the South Sea Islands. On the \u201cJourneying to Goddess\u201d website, under the heading \u201cGoddess Papa,\u201d we read that Papa is \u201cthe Earth Mother who gave birth to all things\u201d and that \u201cPolynesians summon Papa to help in all earthly matters.\u201d6<\/p>\n

In his book Unshackled<\/em>, Pastor Larry DeBruyn describes how William P. Young\u2019s \u201cPapa\u201d bears a striking resemblance to \u201cthe name, nature, and nurturing potential\u201d of this Polynesian Earth goddess Papa.7 Quoting from a source on Hawaiian gods and goddesses, DeBruyn cites the references they make to the \u201ccomfort,\u201d \u201ccare,\u201d \u201cguidance,\u201d and \u201cunconditional love,\u201d that are given to people \u201cin times of crisis and grief\u201d by this Hawaiian Papa and how her \u201cintervention instills calming reassurance and healing.\u201d8 Young seems to parallel the same script as The Shack<\/em> story wholly revolves around the comfort, care, guidance, and unconditional love that is given by Papa to his main character, Mack, during his time of crisis and grief\u2014how Papa\u2019s intervention instills calming reassurance and the ultimate healing of Mack\u2019s \u201cGreat Sadness.\u201d9<\/p>\n

Another website elaborates on how the female Polynesian Papa \u201cworshiped by Native Hawaiians\u201d is regarded as \u201ca primordial force of creation who has the power to give life and to heal.\u201d10 A pagan site informs us that a Papa goddess is especially prevalent amongst the Maoris of New Zealand,11 while another site references a South Seas Papa as part of the mythology of the Southern Cook Islands group.12 While Young obviously put a lot of thought into the naming of his Shack<\/em> characters, and even though he spent his early childhood living on the South Pacific Island of Papua New Guinea,13 he claims to have had no knowledge of this South Seas Papa goddess prior to his writing of The Shack.<\/em>14<\/p>\n

Papa as Trickster<\/strong>
\nCertain Haitian, New Orleanian, and Wiccan Voodoo practitioners are devoted to a spiritual \u201cPapa\u201d who can appear as both \u201cmale and female\u201d and is known as the \u201ctrickster.\u201d15 By simply googling \u201cPapa\u201d and \u201ctrickster,\u201d a variety of websites emerge to describe this Papa Legba spirit that stands at the gateway to the spirit world. One of these sites\u2014\u201cExemplore\u201d\u2014states that Papa Legba \u201cis one of the most widely served African deities\u201d and \u201cis always the first and last spirit invoked in any ceremony\u201d because \u201che opens and closes the doorway to the spirit world.\u201d 16 The site explains that in Voodoo, \u201cPapa\u201d is \u201cthe intermediary\u201d who \u201cstands at a spiritual crossroads and grants or denies permission to speak with the spirits of Guinee.\u201d17<\/p>\n

On the same Exemplore site, in a special section for witches, Papa is described as a \u201cmaster shape shifter\u201d who \u201ccan help you transform on the astral realm, master dream powers, and advanced magics.\u201d18 But in regards to Papa, it states that \u201cin his shapeshifter form he tends to change genders and forms to delight himself. So don\u2019t be surprised if a woman shows up to help you.\u201d19 And just as Young\u2019s female Papa and the South Seas islands female Papa can be summoned for help, comfort, and healing, this Voodoo trickster Papa can be similarly called upon. One of the posted comments on this witches part of the site states\u2014\u201cAnyone can summon Papa!\u201d20 But sometimes this Voodoo Papa comes when he is not summoned. In another comment, a perplexed woman wrote\u2014\u201cI did not know about Papa at all until he presented his self to me as my spirit guide. Is this normal?\u201d21 A posted reply assured her that \u201cPapa does his own thing his own way, so if he presented himself to you, you can be sure it is him.\u201d22 Another site expressed the confusion that can result from a female \u201dGod\u201d named Papa\u2014\u201cIt\u2019s so confusing because Papa is a Mama.\u201d23 But Scripture assures us that the one true God is “not the author of confusion\u201d (1 Corinthians 14:33). He is not a Papa who is a Mama which art in a shack\u2014He is “our Father which art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9).<\/p>\n

Praying to Which Papa?<\/strong>
\nSo what Papa are people invoking when they are inspired to pray to Papa after reading The Shack<\/em>? Is Young presenting Shack<\/em> readers with the true God of the Bible or with a generic Papa \u201cGod\u201d that overlaps with all the other mamas and papas and gods and goddesses around the world? The Shack\u2019s<\/em> \u201cJesus\u201d answers that question loud and clear for any Shack<\/em> reader who has a heart for the truth. With words purposefully put in his mouth by Young\u2014a self-described universalist24\u2014The Shack\u2019s<\/em> \u201cJesus\u201d proclaims that his Papa \u201cGod\u201d is \u201cthe ground of all being\u201d because he \u201cdwells in, around, and through all things.”25\u00a0In other words,\u00a0 The Shack’s<\/em> Jesus says that the Shack\u2019s<\/em> Papa indwells everyone and everything.\u00a0This is the same universal God that David Spangler describes\u00a0in the \u00a0beginning quote of this article. But this is panentheism, and this is a lie. This is the foundational teaching of the New Age\/New Spirituality\/New Worldview that has been rapidly emerging both in the world and in the church. All of this is to say\u2014The Shack\u2019s<\/em> Papa is a universal Papa and The Shack\u2019s<\/em> \u201cGod\u201d is a counterfeit \u201cGod\u201d who has cunningly wormed his way into an unsuspecting church.<\/p>\n

Trickster Book<\/strong>
\nAs seen with the Voodoo Papa, some of these mama and papa gods and goddesses are also \u201ctricksters.\u201d And they are definitely doing their trickster thing\u2014which often entails cleverly undermining existing societal rules and established religious beliefs as they offer their unique brand of spiritual healing in the name of a more universal alternative spirituality. What can be especially deceptive is that much of their rebellious spiritual activity is cloaked in half-truths, clever remarks, playful humor\u2014and even Christian language. And what seems all too apparent is that The Shack<\/em>\u2014and particularly The Shack\u2019s<\/em> Papa\u2014fall into this trickster category. The novel grabs people\u2019s hearts and minds even as biblical Christianity is being dismantled in front of them as they read the book. And only a trickster book can convince people they are reading about Jesus Christ when the name of Christ is never mentioned\u2014not even once\u2014in the entire story. A generic universal Jesus and a generic universal Papa and not a single mention of Christ, or the Devil for that matter\u2014yet The Shack<\/em> has already become one of the most popular Christian books ever written!<\/p>\n

Trickster books for the church will use Christian language to pull the wool over your eyes so they mess with your mind<\/em>\u2014it\u2019s all part of \u201cmessing around\u201d and being a trickster. Toward the end of The Shack\u2019s<\/em> story, when the female Papa shapeshifts into being a male Papa, Mack asks if Papa is \u201cstill messing\u201d with him. Papa\u2019s immediate answer is\u2014\u201cAlways.\u201d26 At this point, sincere readers of The Shack<\/em> need ask themselves a reasonable question\u2014\u201cIs the one true God of the Bible always \u201cmessing\u201d with us, or is this what you would expect from a universal gender-bending trickster Papa \u201cGod\u201d who bears more of a resemblance to the trickster god of this world than the one true God of the Bible.<\/p>\n

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Endnotes (Caution: Some of the endnotes in this article are from occultic websites.)<\/strong>
\n1. David Spangler and William Irwin Thompson, Reimagination of the World: A Critique of the New Age, Science, and Popular Culture<\/em> (Sante Fe, NM: Bear & Company Publishing, 1991), p. 148.
\n2. William P. Young, The Shack<\/em> (Newbury Park, CA: Windblown Media, 2007), p. 112.
\n3. Ibid., p. 96.
\n4.\u00a0Part Three: The Chiefs xx Papa and Wakea, http:\/\/www.sacred-texts.com\/pac\/hm\/hm22.htm | Godchecker website: http:\/\/www.godchecker.com\/pantheon\/oceanic-mythology.php?list-gods-names.
\n5. Denise M Alvarado, <\/span>“Papa Legba and Other Spirits of the Crossroads” (Who is Papa Legba?, Images of Legba, https:\/\/exemplore.com\/magic\/papalegba).
\n6. https:\/\/journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com\/2012\/09\/19\/goddess-papa\/, \u201cGoddess Papa\u201d September 19, 2012.
\n7. Larry DeBruyn, Unshackled: Breaking Away From Seductive Spirituality<\/em> (Indianapolis, IN: Franklin Road Baptist Church, 2009), pp. 27-28. Author\u2019s reference pertains to the now archived Wahine\u2019o Wanana Institute\u2019s \u201cHawaiian Goddesses\u201d website: https:\/\/web-beta.archive.org\/web \/20110410205614\/http:\/\/www.powersthatbe.com \/goddess\/papa.html.
\n8. Ibid.
\n9. William P. Young,\u00a0op. cit., \u00a0pp. 43-66, p. 92, pp. 96-98, pp. 101-102.
\n10. https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Papahanaumoku<\/a>
\n11. The Goddess Papa, http:\/\/www.holladaypaganism.com\/goddesses\/cyclopedia\/p\/PAPA.HTM.
\n12. Wikipedia: Papa (mythology)\u2014 https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Papa_(mythology).
\n13. Wm. Paul Young\u2014About (http:\/\/wmpaulyoung.com\/wm-paul-young-about<\/a>).
\n14. Eric Barger, \u201cWhy The Shack<\/em> Must be Rejected\u201d (Lamp & Lion Ministries,\u00a0Lamplighter<\/em>, May 2017, http:\/\/christinprophecyblog.org\/2017\/04\/why-the-shack-must-be-rejected<\/a>), \u00a0pp. 13-14.
\n15. “Papa Legba and Other Spirits of the Crossroads” (Exemplore blog, Images of Legba, Who is Papa Legba?, https:\/\/exemplore.com\/magic\/papalegba).
\n16. Ibid.
\n17. Ibid.
\n18. “Papa Legba for Witches,” How Legba Can Help You (https:\/\/exemplore.com\/wicca-witchcraft\/papa-legba-for-witches)
\n19. Ibid.
\n20.\u00a0Ibid., Posted Comments (Nitecat response to babygirl1414)
\n21. Ibid., Posted Comments (jacynnavarro)
\n22. Ibid., Posted Comments (Nitecat response to jacynnavarro)
\n23. http:\/\/www.godchecker.com\/pantheon\/oceanic-mythology.php?deity=PAPA
\n24. Wm. Paul Young, Lies We Believe About God<\/em> (New York, NY: Atria Books, 2017), pp. 118-119 (Young states that he believes in universal salvation.)
\n25. William P. Young, The Shack<\/em>, op. cit., p. 218.
\n26. merriam-webster.com and encyclopedia.com (ousia)<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Warren B. Smith (B.A. University of Pennsylvania; M.S.W. Tulane University)\u2014A free lance writer and community social worker who was formerly involved in the New Age movement. He has served as a program coordinator for people with special needs, directed several homeless programs, and has worked as a Hospice social worker in New Orleans and on the California coast. He has written extensively on the subject of spiritual deception and has spoken on radio, television, and at seminars and conferences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Warren B. Smith There…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556,8,66],"tags":[3612,21,2923,134,180,216,342,683,1279,3600,3610,3611],"class_list":["post-22578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-universalism-the-emerging-church","category-bookfilm-reviews","category-the-shack","tag-ground-of-all-being","tag-new-age","tag-the-shack","tag-universalism","tag-witchcraft","tag-warren-b-smith","tag-paul-young","tag-larry-debruyn","tag-david-spangler","tag-wm-paul-young","tag-papa","tag-voo-doo","wpcat-556-id","wpcat-8-id","wpcat-66-id"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Shack\u2019s Universal Papa - 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\/the-shacks-universal-papa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Shack\u2019s Universal Papa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Warren B. 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