{"id":23548,"date":"2017-08-16T14:23:49","date_gmt":"2017-08-16T18:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=23548"},"modified":"2026-07-09T05:37:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T12:37:26","slug":"new-booklet-shack-theology-universalism-tbn-oprah-new-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-booklet-shack-theology-universalism-tbn-oprah-new-age\/","title":{"rendered":"NEW BOOKLET – SHACK THEOLOGY: Universalism, TBN, Oprah, and the New Age"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW BOOKLET: SHACK THEOLOGY: Universalism, TBN, Oprah, and the New Age <\/i>by Warren B. Smith is our newest <\/b>Lighthouse Trails Booklet.<\/b><\/a><\/strong> The Booklet is 18 pages long and sells for $1.95 for single copies. Quantity discounts are as much as 50% off retail. Our Booklets are designed to give away to others or for your own personal use. Below is the content of the booklet. To order copies of SHACK THEOLOGY: Universalism, TBN, Oprah, and the New Age, <\/em>click here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

SHACK THEOLOGY: Universalism, TBN, Oprah, and the New Age<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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

\"Shack<\/a>I have written a number of short articles pertaining to The Shack<\/em> and its author William P. Young. My intention has been to shed some light on the leaven of universalism that is at the heart of the book\u2019s often errant theology. This booklet presents seven of these articles.<\/p>\n

Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. (Galatians 5:7-9)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When People Say the Shack is Just a Novel<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A woman standing in line outside the theater to see The Shack<\/em> movie was eager to talk with me about Wm. Paul Young\u2019s best-selling book. She said she \u201cloved\u201d The Shack<\/em> and couldn\u2019t understand why it had so many critics on the Internet. She was especially perplexed by the number of \u201cnegative\u201d comments made by pastors. Obviously confused by all the controversy, she suddenly exclaimed\u2014\u201cBut The Shack<\/em> is just a novel!\u201d<\/p>\n

What the woman and so many other Shack<\/em> readers fail to take into account is that the book is much more than \u201cjust a novel.\u201d It is a carefully crafted presentation of Paul Young\u2019s alternative \u201cChristian\u201d universalist theology based on \u201creal\u201d conversations he claims to have had with God. In Young\u2019s forward to The Shack<\/em> Revisited<\/em>, a book written by his friend C. Baxter Kruger, Young corrects any misunderstanding that The Shack<\/em> is just a novel. He writes:<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t misunderstand me; The Shack <\/em>is theology. But it is theology wrapped in story.1<\/em><\/p>\n

If you want to understand better the perspectives and theology that frame The Shack,<\/em> this book [Kruger\u2019s] is for you. Baxter has taken on the incredible task of exploring the nature and character of the God who met me in my own shack.2<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to Young, God came to him in the \u201cGreat Sadness\u201d of his own personal \u201cshack\u201d and communicated directly with him. Much of The Shack<\/em>\u2019s theology is based on what Young learned in his conversations with God.<\/p>\n

Paul Young\u2019s Conversations with God<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Christian news source recently reprinted excerpts from several posts Paul\u00a0 Young made on his personal blog back in August 2007. In these excerpts, Young explained that The Shack<\/em> is a story, but it is a story based on real conversations he was having with God, his friends, and his family. He writes<\/p>\n

Remember, I am thinking about writing this for my kids, so I am searching for a good vehicle to communicate through. I figure a good story would be great . . . but I didn\u2019t have one. So I started with what I did have . . . conversations. So, off and on, for about three months I wrote down conversations; conversations that I was having with God<\/em> mostly, but which often included friends or family.3<\/em> (emphasis added)<\/p>\n

Is the story \u201creal\u201d? The story is fiction. I made it up. Now, having said that, I will add that the emotional pain with all its intensity and the process that tears into Mack\u2019s heart and soul are very real. I have my \u201cshack,\u201d the place I had to go through to find healing. I have my Great Sadness . . . that is all real. And the conversations are very real and true.<\/em> . . .<\/p>\n

So is the story true? The pain, the loss, the grief, the process, the conversations<\/em>, the questions, the anger, the longing, the secrets, the lies, the forgiveness . . . all real, all true.4<\/em> (emphasis added)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Young\u2019s \u201cChristian\u201d Universalism<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a February 16, 2008 post on a blog called Christian Universalism: The Beautiful Heresy, an avowed \u201cfriend\u201d of Paul Young corroborates Young\u2019s 2007 blog post about his conversations with God. The friend describes how the conversations Young\u2019s main character Mack has with God in The Shack<\/em> are \u201creal conversations\u201d that Young actually had with God. She reveals how these conversations \u201crevolutionized\u201d Young, his family, and friends such as herself. She says that the \u201cradically dangerous\u201d teachings that Young put in his novel have become her new \u201csystematic theology\u201d and The Shack<\/em> is her new \u201csystematic theology handbook.\u201d The following are her exact words and punctuation as they were originally posted on the Christian Universalism blog:<\/p>\n

I know the author well\u2014a personal friend. (Our whole house church devoured it [The Shack]<\/em> last summer, and Paul came to our home to discuss it\u2014WONDERFUL time!) The conversations that \u201cMack\u201d has with God, are real conversations that Paul Young had with God . . . and they revolutionized him, his family, and friends<\/em> (Paul had a very traumatic past, raised by missionary parents, who left him in the care of the stone-age Dani tribe, while they did \u201cGod\u2019s work.\u201d He was abused by them, in the process\u2014and there were other tragedies in his life, later on. When he was a broken mess, God began to speak to him<\/em>). He wrote the story (rather than a \u201csermon\u201d) to give the real conversations context\u2014and because Jesus also used simple stories to engage our hearts, even by-passing our objective brains, in order to have His message take root in our hearts, and grow. . . .<\/p>\n

I had already come to believe all the \u201cradically dangerous\u201d teachings within this book\u2014so it mostly confirmed what I already believed. But, it most definitely highlighted the reality that I don\u2019t yet KNOW (KNOW!) how much God loves me. I want the relationship with God that I see in Paul Young\u2019s life. . . . This was the first book that I read straight through 4 times. First to absorb it. Secondly, to underline. Third to highlight. Fourth, to put \u201cheaders\u201d on the top of each page, so that I could find certain passages again. It\u2019s become my new \u201csystematic theology\u201d handbook.15<\/em> (emphasis added)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thus, by his own account and that of his friend, Paul Young would be the first to deny that The Shack<\/em> is \u201cjust a novel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young the Universalist<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back to my conversation with the woman in front of the movie theater. When she said that The Shack<\/em> was \u201cjust a novel,\u201d I described how his novel was actually a fictional device used as a \u201cvehicle\u201d for presenting some of his own misguided theological teachings\u2014teachings that had more in common with New Age teachings than biblical Christianity. When she acknowledged knowing about the New Age movement, I told her that some of The Shack<\/em>\u2019s teachings were actually New Age teachings. But before I could explain what those specific teachings were and how I had once been involved in the New Age myself, the theater doors opened, the line started moving, and our conversation was suddenly over. She seemed relieved as she turned toward the theater and away from me. Praying that she would come to understand that Paul Young has more in common with New Age universalism than biblical Christianity. I had no idea at the time that Young was about to publicly declare in a new book what so many of us already knew. In Lies We Believe About God<\/em>, which was released on March 7th, 2017 Young states that he believes in \u201cuniversal salvation\u201d6<\/em> and that \u201cevery single human being is in Christ\u201d and \u201cChrist is in them.\u201d7 <\/em>Thus, Young himself makes it very clear in his own words that The Shack<\/em> is not \u201cjust a novel\u201d but rather a \u201ccunningly devised fable\u201d (2 Peter 1:16) for presenting some of his own heretical universalistic New Age views.<\/p>\n

Who is Paul Young Really Listening To and Conversing With?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul Young would have us believe that he has been having \u201creal\u201d conversations with God and that he was inspired by God to write The Shack<\/em>. Yet he is now declaring himself to be a universalist who believes in the false New Age trinitarian doctrine that God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are already \u201cin\u201d everyone. In other words, Young, as a professing universalist, would have us believe that all of humanity is already saved (universal salvation). The question that naturally arises and that is now before the church is\u2014just who is Paul Young actually listening to and conversing with? The God of the Bible or seducing spirits (1Timothy 4:1)?<\/p>\n

Wm. Paul Young\u2019s Universal New Age Lie\u2014Christ \u201cIn\u201d Everyone<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; But after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, Having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Young Publicly Endorses Universal Salvation<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his book Lies We Believe About God,<\/em> Paul Young openly describes himself as a universalist. In chapter 13, Young would have us believe it is a \u201clie\u201d to tell someone, \u201cYou need to get saved.\u201d8 <\/em>Young asks himself the rhetorical questions, \u201cAre you suggesting that everyone is saved? That you believe in universal salvation?\u201d9<\/em> He answers, \u201cThat is exactly what I am saying!\u201d10<\/em> Young then goes on to teach that \u201cevery single human being is in Christ\u201d and that \u201cChrist is in them.\u201d11<\/em> With this unbiblical teaching, one recalls how Young put these same heretical \u201cGod in everything\u201d words in the mouth of his \u201cJesus\u201d character in The Shack<\/em>. He wrote:<\/p>\n

God, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things.12<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Trinitarian Lie<\/strong><\/p>\n

Young would have us believe his trinitarian lie that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit inherently indwell everyone.13<\/em> This is exactly what the false \u201cChrist\u201d of the New Age teaches. In fact, it is the foundational teaching of the New Age\/New Spirituality\/New World Religion that has progressively moved into the world and into the church.<\/p>\n

New Age in the Church<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I pointed out in my booklet, The Shack and Its New Age Leaven,14<\/em> the teaching that God is \u201cin\u201d everyone is the foundational universalist New Age teaching that has been increasingly popularized over the last thirty years by New Age authors and teachers and heavily promoted by people like Oprah Winfrey. Sadly, it is also found in the books and teachings of well-known church figures like Robert Schuller, Rick Warren, Eugene Peterson, Leonard Sweet, and Sarah Young.15<\/em> And in a November 1, 2016 Catholic News Service<\/em> article titled, \u201cPope Offers New Beatitudes for Saints of a New Age\u201d Pope Francis, in a Catholic Mass in Malmo, Sweden, proposed a new \u201cbeatitude\u201d\u2014\u201cBlessed are those who see God in every person and strive to make others also discover him.\u201d16<\/em><\/p>\n

What Will the Church Do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul Young wanted to have a conversation about the nature of God, and that conversation is now front and center before the church. Will pastors and leaders and day-to-day believers contend for the faith and fight the good fight, or will they let false teachers like Paul Young have their uncontested<\/em> say and have their uncontested <\/em>way?<\/p>\n

Shack, TBN, and the New Age Lie<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Trinity Broadcasting Network has provided The Shack<\/em> author Wm. Paul Young with the world\u2019s largest \u201cChristian\u201d stage\u2014his very own television series on TBN. Young\u2019s Restoring The Shack<\/em> episodes have been masterfully produced on location in beautiful Montana. His presentations are usually underscored and enhanced with soothing music that is clearly designed to evoke a strong emotional response and positive assent from viewers to whatever Young may be preaching or teaching.<\/p>\n

In what could also be described as \u201cThe Shack Show,\u201d Young brings his own weekly brand of Shack<\/em> promotion, Shack<\/em> theology, and Shack<\/em> therapy to TBN viewers as he hopes to convert them from their own \u201cGreat Sadness\u201d to his own \u201crelational\u201d take on what used to be biblical Christianity. The real sadness is that Young\u2019s Shack<\/em> theology and Shack<\/em> therapy have more to do with his love for universalism and New Agey trinitarianism than it does with scriptural truth.\u00a0 Why New Agey? Because when Young teaches about \u201crelationship\u201d he is, by his own Shack<\/em> definition, referring to the Trinity within\u2014a God and Christ and Holy Spirit that are said to be \u201cin\u201d everyone and everything.17<\/em><\/p>\n

Somewhat elusive about exposing his own personal universalism in the past, Young has recently made himself very clear on the matter. In his March 2017 book Lies We Believe About God<\/em>, he asks two rhetorical questions of himself\u2014\u201cAre you suggesting that everyone is saved? That you believe in universal salvation?\u201d His immediate and almost defiant response in the book is\u2014\u201cThat is exactly what I am saying!\u201d18<\/em> Nevertheless, TBN has been only too pleased to not only promote his new book on every episode, but to simultaneously use it as a fund raiser for themselves at the same time. Obviously, with TBN becoming a showcase for Paul Young and his creative, relational, universalistic, New Agey take on the Trinity, TBN is giving new meaning to the \u201cTrinity\u201d in Trinity Broadcasting. And it looks like Young and TBN are in for the weekly long haul as most Christian leaders look on with apparent indifference.<\/p>\n

TBN Pulls Plug on \u201cShack\u201d Author\u2019s New Book\u2014Sort of . . .<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Now you see Shack<\/em> author Wm. Paul Young\u2019s new book Lies We Believe About God <\/em>promoted on TBN, now you don\u2019t. For seven straight episodes of Trinity Broadcasting Network\u2019s weekly series Restoring The Shack,<\/em> Paul Young\u2019s new book was prominently featured and even offered as a fund raiser for TBN. Each week\u2019s episode was then posted on the Internet\u2014promos and all. But starting with episode 8, everything changed. Young\u2019s new book was no longer featured and promoted. It also disappeared from episodes 2-7 that had been previously posted on the Internet. TBN editors had actually gone into the previously posted original programs and edited out all their prior offers for Lies We Believe About God<\/em>. Into the spots where Lies<\/em> had been offered, a promotional offer for The Shack<\/em> has been inserted into its place\u2014who would ever know? Only the first episode of Restoring The Shack<\/em> has retained the original promos for Lies<\/em>, perhaps as a minor concession to the author or as a way to keep their editing process from being a complete and total whitewash.<\/p>\n

Why the disappearing act? From all appearances, it looks like an emergency edit for the purpose of damage control. You would have to ask the publicity department at TBN, but one can only speculate that the network had not done themselves any favors by endorsing and promoting Young\u2019s extremely controversial new book. In Lies,<\/em> Young had announced, among other things, that he was a proponent of \u201cuniversal salvation,\u201d19 <\/em>that the statement \u201cYou need to get saved\u201d is a \u201clie,\u201d20<\/em> and that Christ is \u201cin\u201d \u201cevery single human being.\u201d21 <\/em>TBN was probably getting a mountain of questions on all fronts as to why they were promoting this book\u2014a book that in so many ways is at complete odds with biblical Christianity. In light of Young\u2019s new book, one major ministry wrote TBN stating that having Young\u2019s program on TBN was \u201cinexcusable\u201d and \u201cdownright blasphemous.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a week that saw the graphic artist who helped design the cover of The Shack<\/em> renounce the book and renounce his involvement with the project,22<\/em> TBN made their move. Young\u2019s book Lies<\/em> has\u2014at least for now\u2014faded into the background and disappeared from TBN. And while some might commend TBN for eliminating their promotion of Young\u2019s new book, the question that still begs to be asked is\u2014\u201dWhy did TBN ever promote Lies We Believe About God<\/em> in the first place? Better yet, why did they ever promote Paul Young and The Shack<\/em> in the first place?<\/p>\n

The Shack\u2019s Universal Papa<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There is nothing new about saying, \u201cI am God.\u201d . . . However, in the Judeo-Christian-Moslem world, God is usually not popularly understood as a universal presence, the ground of all being<\/em>.23<\/em>\u2014New Age leader David Spangler (emphasis added)<\/p>\n

God, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things<\/em> [a universal presence<\/em>]24<\/em>\u2014The Shack<\/em>\u2019s \u201cJesus\u201d defining \u201cPapa\u201d as a universal New Age God (emphasis added)<\/p><\/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 is a female goddess25<\/em>\u2014just like The Shack<\/em>\u2019s 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<\/em>\u2019s Papa.26<\/em> And if you ask, they will all tell you that their Papas are universal Papas who dwell \u201cin, around, and through all things\u201d\u2014just like The Shack<\/em>\u2019s Papa.<\/p>\n

Papa as Earth Mother<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shack <\/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.\u201d27<\/em><\/p>\n

In his book Unshackled<\/em>, Pastor Larry DeBruyn describes how Paul Young\u2019s \u201cPapa\u201d bears a striking resemblance to \u201cthe name, nature, and nurturing potential\u201d of this Polynesian Earth goddess Papa.28<\/em> 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.\u201d29 <\/em>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.\u201d30<\/em><\/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.\u201d31<\/em> A pagan site informs us that a Papa goddess is especially prevalent amongst the Maoris of New Zealand,32<\/em> while another site references a South Seas Papa as part of the mythology of the Southern Cook Islands group.33<\/em> 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,34<\/em> he claims to have had no knowledge of this South Seas Papa goddess prior to his writing of The Shack<\/em>.35<\/em><\/p>\n

Papa as Trickster<\/strong><\/p>\n

Certain 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.\u201d36<\/em> 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.\u201d37 <\/em>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.\u201d38<\/em><\/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.\u201d39<\/em> 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.\u201d40 <\/em>And just as Paul 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!\u201d41<\/em> 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?\u201d42<\/em> 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.\u201d43<\/em> Another site expressed the confusion that can result from a female \u201cGod\u201d named Papa\u2014\u201cIt\u2019s so confusing because Papa is a Mama.\u201d44<\/em> But Scripture assures us that the one true God is \u201cnot the author of confusion\u201d (1 Corinthians 14:33). He is not a Papa who is a Mama which art in a Shack<\/em>\u2014He is \u201cour Father which art in heaven\u201d (Matthew 6:9).<\/p>\n

Praying to Which Papa?<\/strong><\/p>\n

So what Papa are people invoking when they are inspired to pray to Papa after reading The Shack<\/em>? Is Paul 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<\/em>\u2019s \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 universalist45<\/em>\u2014The Shack<\/em>\u2019s \u201cJesus\u201d proclaims that his Papa \u201cGod\u201d is \u201cthe ground of all being\u201d because he \u201cdwells in, around, and through all things.\u201d46<\/em> In other words,\u00a0 The Shack<\/em>\u2019s Jesus says that The Shack<\/em>\u2019s Papa indwells everyone and everything. This is the same universal God that New Age leader David Spangler describes in the beginning 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<\/em>\u2019s Papa is a universal Papa and The Shack<\/em>\u2019s \u201cGod\u201d is a counterfeit \u201cGod\u201d who has cunningly wormed his way into an unsuspecting church.<\/p>\n

Trickster Book<\/strong><\/p>\n

As 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<\/em>\u2019s 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 to mess with your mind\u2014it\u2019s all part of \u201cmessing around\u201d and being a trickster. Toward the end of The Shack<\/em>\u2019s 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.\u201d47 <\/em>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

Universal Shack Therapy: Wm. Paul Young, Kahlil Gibran, and \u201cThe Great Sadness<\/strong>\u201d<\/h3>\n

Wm. Paul Young writes that The Shack<\/em> is \u201ctheology wrapped in story.\u201d48 <\/em>And his Shack<\/em> theology presents a universalistic Shack<\/em> Therapy for the \u201cGreat Sadness\u201d that plagues his main character \u201cMack.\u201d Young remarks in numerous interviews that, like Mack, most people have their own inner \u201cshack\u201d where they store their secrets and their own personal \u201cGreat Sadness.\u201d This \u201cGreat Sadness\u201d becomes Young\u2019s personal metaphor for the inner pain and anguish locked within his and other people\u2019s souls. Lebanese-American writer, artist, philosopher, and universalist Khalil Gibran (1883-1931) uses this same phrase\u2014\u201dgreat sadness\u201d\u2014in his 1926 book The Madman: His Parables and Poems<\/em>. He wrote:<\/p>\n

Then a great sadness came over the face of my soul, and into her voice.49<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, it seems that the derivation of Young\u2019s phrase \u201cThe Great Sadness\u201d was consciously or unconsciously taken from parts of two consecutive lines from yet another Gibran book that Young actually quoted from in The Shack<\/em>. Chapter 4 in The Shack<\/em> is titled \u201cThe Great Sadness.\u201d Underneath this title, Young quotes a single line about \u201csadness\u201d from Gibran\u2019s work Sand and Foam<\/em>\u2014\u201cSadness is but a wall between two gardens.\u201d50<\/em> The next line\u2014one that Young did not quote\u2014has the word \u201cgreat\u201d in it: \u201cWhen either your joy or your sorrow becomes great your world becomes small.\u201d51 <\/em>The word \u201cgreat\u201d in the second line linked with \u201csadness\u201d in the line directly above it creates Young\u2019s term\u2014\u201cThe Great Sadness.\u201d Whether or not he realizes it, Young seems to have derived the phrase \u201cGreat Sadness\u201d from the universalistic writings of Kahlil Gibran. In his essay \u201cYour Thought and Mine,\u201d Gibran writes:<\/p>\n

Your thought advocates Judaism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. In my thought there is only one universal religion, whose varied paths are but the fingers of the loving hand of the Supreme Being.52<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the Acknowledgments section of The Shack<\/em>, Young thanks Kahlil Gibran for his \u201ccreative stimulation.\u201d He quotes Gibran not only in The Shack<\/em>, but also in opening the very first chapter of his second novel Crossroads.<\/em> Kahlil Gibran is best known for his perennial best-seller, The Prophet<\/em>\u2014a book that \u201chas long been one of the bibles of the New-Age movement.\u201d53 <\/em>As a matter of fact, as former New Agers, Gibran\u2019s book was a treasured part of our New Age library. What\u2019s more, \u201cNew Age Pioneer\u201d was the title of a 1998 New York Times<\/em> book review about Gibran and his New Age influence.54<\/em> Robin Waterfield, an authority on Gibran and a consulting editor for religious and New Age publishers, wrote a definitive biography on Gibran that was the subject of the aforementioned New York Times<\/em> book review. Waterfield\u2019s book, Prophet: The Life and Times of Kahlil Gibran<\/em>, described the biographer\u2019s belief that Gibran was highly influential in the initial formation of the New Age Movement:<\/p>\n

I suggest that Gibran has been one of the hidden influences on the New Age . . . I cannot say that without him the New Age movement would not have arisen, but it is, I think, safe to say that he has had an enormous influence on it.55<\/em><\/p>\n

I think it is arguable that Gibran was one of the founding fathers of the New Age.56<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ten years after the release of The Shack<\/em>, Paul Young declared he was a believer in universal salvation.57<\/em> Sounding much like any New Age universalist, Young is now teaching the panentheistic and heretical New Age doctrines of Christ \u201cin\u201d everyone58<\/em> and God \u201cin\u201d all things.59<\/em> With The Shack<\/em> being recently made into a movie and with Shack<\/em> book sales now over 22 million copies, with countless radio and television interviews and church talks under his belt, and with his own Restoring<\/em> The Shack<\/em> weekly TBN prime time television series, Paul Young had done just about everything except appear on Oprah. But then he also did that. On July 9, 2017, Young was the featured guest on Oprah Winfrey\u2019s Super Soul Sunday<\/em> television program.60 <\/em>The day after the program, Young suddenly announced\u2014\u201cI want to be more like Oprah.\u201d61<\/em> And with that statement Shack<\/em> lovers should be shocked that an avowed Christian would want to be \u201cmore like Oprah\u201d\u2014one of the most influential New Age leaders in the world today.62<\/em> But what most people don\u2019t realize is that in regard to New Age universalism, Wm. Paul Young is already <\/em>like Oprah\u2014and Kahlil Gibran\u2014and this may be one of the greatest \u201cGreat Sadnesses\u201d of all.<\/p>\n

A Cat Named Judas<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The name Judas<\/em> has been described as the most hated name in all the world. Except for Shack<\/em> author Wm. Paul Young and maybe a few exceptional others, hardly anybody ever names anyone or anything Judas. It is one of those forbidden names like Jezebel or Lucifer that people would never dream of naming their child, their dog\u2014or their cat. The very name denotes a sense of treachery and betrayal. After all, Judas was the one who openly betrayed Jesus and paved the way for His crucifixion. So what was Paul Young thinking? Why does The Shack<\/em>\u2019s most endearing character\u2014Missy\u2014have a cat named Judas?63 <\/em>And it seems especially odd to have a cat with that name in a family where the mother\u2019s faith is described as \u201cdeep\u201d64 <\/em>and Missy is asking sincere questions about Jesus\u2019 death.65<\/em><\/p>\n

Heresy and Betrayal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Young contends that The Shack<\/em> is much more than a fictional novel. He describes The Shack<\/em> as \u201ctheology wrapped in story.\u201d He writes:<\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t misunderstand me; The Shack<\/em> is theology. But it is theology wrapped in story, the Word becoming flesh and living inside the blood and bones of common human experience.66<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is said in spite of the fact that Young\u2019s Shack<\/em> characters and universalistic Shack<\/em> \u201ctheology\u201d frequently mock God and God\u2019s Word with their cryptic humor and clever interplay. To be perfectly blunt, the name Judas fits right in with much of what Young is teaching. Like Judas, Young betrays Jesus Christ and biblical Christianity with his heretical Shack<\/em> theology\u2014a Shack<\/em> theology where there is, among other things, no Devil and no Christ. Neither of them can be found anywhere in the whole Shack<\/em> story. The Devil is never mentioned because Young would have us believe that evil and darkness \u201cdo not have any actual existence.\u201d67<\/em> And The Shack<\/em>\u2019s \u201cJesus\u201d is never identified as Christ. In fact, the name of Christ is nowhere to be found in the whole Shack<\/em> story.68<\/em><\/p>\n

One well-known pastor gave an impassioned sermon about thirteen heresies he found in The Shack<\/em>.69<\/em> One heresy he did not mention is perhaps the most egregious of all\u2014the panentheistic proposition that God is \u201cin\u201d all things. Incredibly, Young puts this foundational doctrine of the New Age\/New Spirituality\/New World Religion right in the mouth of The Shack<\/em>\u2019s \u201cJesus.\u201d Young\u2019s \u201cJesus\u201d states\u2014\u201cGod, who is the ground of all being, dwells in, around, and through all things.\u201d70<\/em> But this is a false teaching. God is not \u201cin\u201d all things.71<\/em> For Young to put these heretical words in the mouth of The Shack<\/em>\u2019s \u201cJesus\u201d is an absolute betrayal of the true Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

A Wonderful and Horrible Betrayal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thus, as Paul Young plays fast and loose with biblical Christianity, should we be surprised that he plays fast and loose with a name like Judas\u2014a name that perfectly describes his role in today\u2019s wayward church. What Young describes as \u201ctheology wrapped in story\u201d is really biblical betrayal wrapped in a cunningly devised fable (2 Peter 1:16). The Shack<\/em> is everything that the true Jesus Christ warned us to watch out for when he said to \u201cbe not deceived\u201d (Luke 21:8). And that warning would seem to include authors like Wm. Paul Young who think nothing at all about putting heretical New Age doctrines in Jesus\u2019 mouth and naming a little girl\u2019s cat Judas.<\/p>\n

The Shack<\/em> may seem \u201cwonderful\u201d to countless Shack<\/em> readers, but in reality it is a betrayal of biblical Christianity and of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the words of the prophet Jeremiah\u2014The Shack<\/em> may seem \u201cwonderful,\u201d but it is actually \u201chorrible,\u201d and yet the people \u201clove to have it so.\u201d<\/p>\n

A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? (Jeremiah 5:30-31)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To order copies of SHACK THEOLOGY: Universalism, TBN, Oprah, and the New Age, <\/em>click here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Endnotes<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. C. Baxter Kruger, The Shack<\/em> Revisited: There Is More Going on Here than You Ever Dared to Dream<\/em> ( New York, NY: FaithWorks, Hatchette Book Group, 2012), p. xi.<\/li>\n
  2. Ibid., p. viiii.<\/li>\n
  3. Sunny Shell, \u201c<\/em>The Shack<\/em>, a Biblical and Interactive Review\u201d<\/em> (http:\/\/blogs.christianpost.com\/abandoned-to-christ\/the-shack-a-biblical-and-interactive-review-28674\/, posted 2\/16\/17), quoting Paul Young from his August 15, 2007 blog titled \u201cThe Shack<\/em>\u2014update\u2014Background #2\u201d (http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20070911092057\/http:\/\/www.windrumors.com\/29\/the-shack-update-background-2\/).<\/li>\n
  4. Sunny Shell, \u201cThe Shack<\/em>, a Biblical and Interactive Review\u201d (http:\/\/blogs.christianpost.com\/abandoned-to-christ\/the-shack-a-biblical-and-interactive-review-28674\/, posted 2\/16\/17), quoting Paul Young from his August 15, 2007 blog titled \u201cIs the story of The Shack<\/em> true . . . is Mack a \u201creal\u201d person? (http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20070911092319\/http:\/\/www.windrumors.com\/30\/is-the-story-of-the-shack-trueis-mack-a-real-person).<\/li>\n
  5. Christian Universalism\u2014The Beautiful Heresy: The Shack<\/em> (http:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20080307051159\/http:\/\/christian-universalism.blogs.com\/thebeautifulheresy\/2008\/02\/the-shack.html, posted February 16, 2008 by Dena Brehm). Thanks to Kent McElroy for bringing this blog to my attention.<\/li>\n
  6. Wm. Paul Young, Lies We Believe About God <\/em>(New York, NY: Atria Books, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, 2017), p. 118.<\/li>\n
  7. Ibid., p. 119.<\/li>\n
  8. Ibid., chapter 13 title in Lies We Believe About God <\/em>is \u201cYou need to get saved.\u201d<\/li>\n
  9. Ibid., p. 118.<\/li>\n
  10. Ibid.<\/li>\n
  11. Ibid., p. 119.<\/li>\n
  12. William P. Young, The Shack<\/em>: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity <\/em>(Los Angeles, CA: Windblown Media, 2007), p. 112.<\/li>\n
  13. In C. Baxter Kruger\u2019s book, The Shack<\/em> Revisited: There Is More Going On Here Than You Ever Dared to Dream<\/em>, in the foreword, Shack <\/em>author William Paul Young writes: \u201cI want to say, \u2018Thank you, and please read The Shack Revisited.\u2019<\/em>\u201d He adds, \u201cIf you want to understand better the perspectives and theology that frame The Shack<\/em>, this book is for you. Baxter has taken on the incredible task of exploring the nature and character of the God who met me in my own shack\u201d (p. ix). On page 49 of The Shack<\/em> Revisited<\/em>, Kruger writes: \u201cFor inside of us all, because of Jesus, is nothing short of the very trinitarian life of God.\u201d C. Baxter Kruger, The Shack<\/em> Revisited: There Is More Going On Here Than You Ever Dared to Dream<\/em>, op. cit. p. 49.<\/li>\n
  14. To read this booklet, click here: http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=12290.<\/li>\n
  15. I have documented a short history of how this deceptive New Age teaching has entered the world and the church in my booklet Be Still and Know That You Are Not God.<\/em> The booklet includes quotes by each of these figures. To read a copy of this booklet online, visit http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=17572.<\/li>\n
  16. Cathy Wooden, \u201cPope Offers New Beatitudes for Saints of a New Age\u201d (Catholic News Service<\/em>, November 1, 2016).<\/li>\n
  17. William P. Young, The Shack<\/em>, op. cit., p. 112.<\/li>\n
  18. Wm. Paul Young, Lies We Believe About God<\/em>, op. cit., p. 118.<\/li>\n
  19. Ibid.<\/li>\n
  20. Ibid., p. 115.<\/li>\n
  21. Ibid., p. 119.<\/li>\n
  22. Dave Aldrich, graphic artist for The Shack<\/em> book cover, said this on his Facebook page on April 4th 2017. See \u201cArtist \u2018Deeply Regrets\u2019 Designing \u2018Shack\u2019 Cover, Says A Loving God Must \u2018Judge\u2019\u201d at https:\/\/hellochristian.com\/7153-artist-deeply-regrets-designing-shack-cover-says-a-loving-god-must-judge.<\/li>\n
  23. 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.<\/li>\n
  24. William P. Young, The Shack<\/em>, op. cit., p. 112.<\/li>\n
  25. Part 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).<\/li>\n
  26. Denise M Alvarado, \u201cPapa Legba and Other Spirits of the Crossroads\u201d (Who is Papa Legba?, Images of Legba, https:\/\/exemplore.com\/magic\/papalegba).<\/li>\n
  27. https:\/\/journeyingtothegoddess.wordpress.com\/2012\/09\/19\/goddess-papa\/, \u201cGoddess Papa\u201d September 19, 2012.<\/li>\n
  28. 2 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.<\/li>\n
  29. Ibid.<\/li>\n
  30. William P. Young, The Shack<\/em>, op. cit., pp. 43-66, p. 92, pp. 96-98, pp. 101-102.<\/li>\n
  31. https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Papahanaumoku.<\/li>\n
  32. The Goddess Papa, http:\/\/www.holladaypaganism.com\/goddesses\/cyclopedia\/p\/PAPA.HTM.<\/li>\n
  33. Wikipedia: Papa (mythology), https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Papa_(mythology).<\/li>\n
  34. Wm. Paul Young\u2014About (http:\/\/wmpaulyoung.com\/wm-paul-young-about).<\/li>\n
  35. Eric Barger, \u201cWhy The Shack<\/em> Must be Rejected\u201d (Lamb & Lion Ministries, Lamplighter, May 2017, http:\/\/christinprophecyblog.org\/2017\/04\/why-the-shack-must-be-rejected), pp. 13-14.<\/li>\n
  36. \u201cPapa Legba and Other Spirits of the Crossroads\u201d (Exemplore blog, Images of Legba, Who is Papa Legba?, https:\/\/exemplore.com\/magic\/papalegba).<\/li>\n
  37. Ibid.<\/li>\n
  38. Ibid.<\/li>\n
  39. \u201cPapa Legba for Witches,\u201d How Legba Can Help You (https:\/\/exemplore.com\/wicca-witchcraft\/papa-legba-for-witches).<\/li>\n
  40. Ibid.<\/li>\n
  41. Ibid., Posted Comments (Nitecat response to babygirl1414).<\/li>\n
  42. Ibid., Posted Comments (jacynnavarro).<\/li>\n
  43. Ibid., Posted Comments (Nitecat response to jacynnavarro).<\/li>\n
  44. http:\/\/www.godchecker.com\/pantheon\/oceanic-mythology.php?deity=PAPA.<\/li>\n
  45. Wm. Paul Young, Lies We Believe About God<\/em>, op. cit., pp. 118-119 (Young states that he believes in universal salvation.)<\/li>\n
  46. William P. Young, The Shack<\/em>, op. cit., p. 218.<\/li>\n
  47. merriam-webster.com and encyclopedia.com (ousia).<\/li>\n
  48. C. Baxter Kruger, The Shack<\/em> Revisited<\/em>, op. cit., p. xi.<\/li>\n
  49. Khalil Gibran, The Madman: His Parables and Poems <\/em>(Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 2002, originally published in 1918 by Alfred A. Knopf, New York), p. 55.<\/li>\n
  50. Kahlil Gibran, Sand and Foam <\/em>(Lexington, KY: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017, originally published in 1926), p. 37. Note: William Paul Young left out the word \u201cbut\u201d in quoting this line from Gibran\u2019s work.<\/li>\n
  51. Ibid.<\/li>\n
  52. Kahlil Gibran, Short Works by Khalil Gibran<\/em> (Your Thought and Mine). (newthoughtlibrary.com\/gibranKhalil\/shortWorks\/shortWorks).<\/li>\n
  53. John Dodge, \u201cKahlil Gibran and the Fall of the Prophet\u201d (Three Monkeys Online Magazine<\/em>, www.threemonkeysonline.com\/kahlil-gibran-and-the-fall-of-the-prophet).<\/li>\n
  54. Liesl Schillinger, \u201cPioneer of the New Age\u201d (The New York Times<\/em>, December 13, 1998, http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/books\/98\/12\/13\/reviews\/981213.13schillt.html).<\/li>\n
  55. Robin Waterfield, Prophet: The Life and Times of Kahlil Gibran<\/em> (New York, NY: St. Martin\u2019s Press, 1998), p. 290.<\/li>\n
  56. Ibid., p. 289.<\/li>\n
  57. Wm. Paul Young, Lies We Believe About God<\/em>, op. cit., p. 118.<\/li>\n
  58. Ibid., p. 119.<\/li>\n
  59. William P. Young, The Shack<\/em>, op. cit., p. 112.<\/li>\n
  60. Oprah Winfrey, Super Soul Sunday<\/em>, YouTube July 9, 2017.<\/li>\n
  61. Wm. Paul Young personal blog, \u201cI Want to Be More Like Oprah.\u201d (http:\/\/wmpaulyoung.com\/i-want-to-be-more-like-oprah-watch-interview\/).<\/li>\n
  62. It should be noted that although Oprah Winfrey is an exceedingly powerful and influential New Age leader, she still persists in identifying herself as a Christian. But her Christianity is a New Age Christianity that is not biblically based and is no Christianity at all.<\/li>\n
  63. William P. Young, The Shack<\/em>, op. cit., p. 231.<\/li>\n
  64. Ibid., p. 11.<\/li>\n
  65. Ibid., p. 31.<\/li>\n
  66. C. Baxter Kruger, The Shack<\/em> Revisited, op. cit., p. xi.<\/li>\n
  67. William P. Young, The Shack<\/em>, op. cit., p. 136.<\/li>\n
  68. Warren B. Smith, \u201cThe Christless Shack\u201d (article posted at warrenbsmith.com).<\/li>\n
  69. Michael Youssef, The Shack<\/em> Uncovered: 13 Heresies Explained <\/em>(Leading the Way Ministries, 2017, PDF: https:\/\/store.ltw.org\/p-315-the-shack-uncovered-13-heresies-explained-pdf.aspx).<\/li>\n
  70. William P. Young, The Shack<\/em>, op. cit., p.112.<\/li>\n
  71. Warren B. Smith, Be Still and Know That You are Not God: God is Not \u201cin\u201d Everyone and Everything <\/em>(Eureka, MT: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2015). This booklet traces the history of the false teaching that God is \u201cin\u201d everything. It also offers a scriptural refutation of this heretical doctrine. Visit www.lighthousetrails.com.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    To order copies of SHACK THEOLOGY: Universalism, TBN, Oprah, and the New Age, <\/em>click here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

    Author Bio:<\/strong>\u00a0Warren B. Smith (B.A. University of Pennsylvania; M.S.W. Tulane University)\u2014A veteran who worked at the White House Communications Agency and later became a community social worker, serving as a program coordinator for people with special needs, directing several homeless programs, and working as a Hospice social worker in New Orleans and on the California coast. After leaving the New Age movement and becoming a Christian, he began writing extensively on the subject of spiritual deception. He has written seven books and numerous booklet tracts and has spoken on radio, television, and at seminars and conferences for the last twenty-five years. For more information, visit www.warrenbsmith.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    NEW BOOKLET: SHACK THEOLOGY: Universalism,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63,556,8,66,54,165,1664,2595,376,95],"tags":[2923,2928,102,134,216,342,766,2385,3568,3600],"class_list":["post-23548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-new-spirituality","category-universalism-the-emerging-church","category-bookfilm-reviews","category-the-shack","category-interspirituality","category-spiritual-deception-defending-the-faith","category-booklets","category-oprah-winfrey-the-new-age-movement","category-pantheism-panentheism","category-the-new-age-movement","tag-the-shack","tag-the-new-age-movement","tag-oprah","tag-universalism","tag-warren-b-smith","tag-paul-young","tag-tbn","tag-theology","tag-lies-we-believe-about-god","tag-wm-paul-young","wpcat-63-id","wpcat-556-id","wpcat-8-id","wpcat-66-id","wpcat-54-id","wpcat-165-id","wpcat-1664-id","wpcat-2595-id","wpcat-376-id","wpcat-95-id"],"yoast_head":"\nNEW BOOKLET - SHACK THEOLOGY: Universalism, TBN, Oprah, and the New Age - 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\/new-booklet-shack-theology-universalism-tbn-oprah-new-age\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NEW BOOKLET - SHACK THEOLOGY: Universalism, TBN, Oprah, and the New Age\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NEW BOOKLET: SHACK THEOLOGY: Universalism,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/new-booklet-shack-theology-universalism-tbn-oprah-new-age\/\" \/>\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=\"2017-08-16T18:23:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-09T12:37:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/BKT-SHK-TH-FINAL-COVER-new-2-377x600.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Warren B. 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