The Shack Session 3 "Conversing with the Triune God"

Conversations around the Shack, Session 3 “Conversing with a Triune God”

Chapter 7 “God on the Dock”

“So this was God in relationship? It was beautiful and so appealing.” (p.105) These are Mack’s thoughts on the relationship within the triune God. Have you ever thought about the relationship of God with Godself? How does this idea square with the idea presented in Chapter 6 “All love and relationship is possible for you only because it already exists within me…I am love.” (p. 101) or the idea later in Chapter 7 “Relationships are never about power, and one way to avoid the will to power us to choose to limit oneself- to serve.” (p. 106)

What do you think about the idea of devotion as “affirming and celebrating God” described in page 107?

Mack speaks about the “real indwelling” of God with Godself and with humanity in page 112. The theological name for this “perichorisis”. What does this mean about the intimacy of God is relationship with God and us?

Chapter 8 “A Breakfast of Champions”

Hierarchy of the Trinity? “I have always thought of God the Father as sort of being the boss and Jesus as the one following orders, you know, being obedient. I’m not sure how the Holy Spirit fits in exactly.” (page 121) How have you usually thought of the hierarchy of the trinity? What do you think of God’s response “We have no concept of final authority among us, only unity. We are a circle of relationship, not a chain of command. (page 122) What do you think of this response? If we are created in the image of this kind of God, what are the implications for us?

Mack challenges God with these words: “You may not cause these things, but you certainly don’t stop them.” (page 125) Again, Mack is judging God in what we call theodicy. God’s ultimate response to Mack is “The real underlying flaw in your life, Mackenzie, is that you don’t think that I am good. If you knew I was good and the everything- the menas, the ends and all the processes of individual lives- is all covered by my goodness, then while you might not always understand what I’m doing, you would trust me. But you don’t.” (page 126) What do you think of this as a possible definition of original sin- not trusting God, believing God is good.

Chapter 9 “A Long Time Ago in a Garden Far, Far Away”

Chapter 9 provides another insight into theodicy from Sarayu: “Humans have a great capacity for declaring something good or evil, without truly knowing”. (page 133) Mack responds like most of us: “I would say that something is good when I like it- when it makes me feel good or gives me a sense of security. Conversely, I’d call something evil if it causes me pan or costs me something I want.” (page 134) Do you agree with Sarayu’s assessment that for humans, good and evil is highly subjective and our decided good and evil is in itself divisive and destructive? What about Sarayu’s reframing of the idea of evil to describe it as “the absence of Good” and since the triune God is good and light and love and life, then evil is when we are separated from God. Sarayu even goes farther to say that independence from God is evil.

What do you think about the image of a messy but beautiful garden of flowers as a representation of our soul- a mess but incredible and wonderful at the same time.

Chapter 10 “Wade in the Water”

Jesus asks Mack a good question for all of us to answer: “Where do you spend most of your time in your mind, in your imagination, in the present, in the past, or in the future?” Jesus correctly anticipates Mack’s answer that he spend most of his time worrying about the future and rarely is Jesus in that picture. What about you?

Jesus forces Mack to think about the difference between coercive power and mutual submission in page 145. The triune God exists in mutual submission to each other and even to created human beings?!! (page 145) When Mack confesses his relational failures, Jesus invites him into a process of repentance and change that we call metanioa. “It is so simple, but never easy for you. By returning . By returning back to me. By giving up your ways of power and manipulation and just come back to me.” (page 147) What are some of the practical implication of this for us?

Finally Jesus talks about being a disciple. “Being my follower is not trying to be like Jesus, it means for your independence to be killed. I came to give you life, real life, my life…but we will never force that union on you.” How radical is this demand “for your independence to be killed”? Why does Jesus say that our independence is what gets in the way of our relationship with God and with each other? How can we, square this challenge, with the culture which asserts with every breath that we must be independent?