Summary of Chapter 1
The 1st 'lie' Young addresses is the idea that "God loves us, but doesn't like us". Young remembers sharing at a women's prison. One woman, who had read The Shack asked directly (after his talk): "Do you really think that Papa is fond of me?" Young feels the answer to that question, seemingly no matter who is asking, is YES. God doesn't just love us become 'God is love' but also because we are loveable and likeable. God is fond of us.
Reaction
Young seems to be reacting (why respond to lies that don't exist?), here, against an over-emphasis (by some) on our fallenness. It does seem, I'd agree, that too many Christian teachers beat the drum of human depravity without also singing the note of our inherent worth. Genesis 1 (that we are divine image bearers) comes before Genesis 3 (that we are fallen). Our inherent goodness is a greater, more basic, truth about us than our badness. Obviously, it would be possible to over-react (to the idea that we are merely pond-scum) in the opposite direction and conclude that human beings are simply good. But I see no evidence, at this early point, that Young is in danger of making that mistake. No clear objections here, but I am curious if Young might have swung to the other extreme by not taking our fallenness quite seriously enough.
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