Wayne Jacobsen, co-creator of the bestselling novel The Shack, has revealed that an early draft of the controversial book embraced universalism, but said he refused to help rewrite it unless that theology was removed.
In an interview with The Christian Post, Jacobsen, a longtime pastor, teacher and author, reflected on the controversy that has followed The Shack for nearly two decades while discussing his latest book,Just Love,co-written with South African educator and theologian Tobie van der Westhuizen. Among the most persistent criticisms of The Shack was that it promoted universalism, the belief that all people will ultimately be saved.
Jacobsen said that criticism was not entirely without basis when it came to the manuscript he was originally given. “To be honest, the first draft we got was universalist; [universalism] was part of the answer in that book,” Jacobsen said.
“And when I was asked to help rewrite it, I was clear that I would not participate in a book that held universalism as an answer because I don't think that's what Scripture says.” “There’s so much in Scripture you'd have to ignore to get to that point,” he added. Jacobsen said he and fellow collaborator Brad Cummings spent about 16 months rewriting the manuscript by author William P.
Young, known as Paul Young, and, with Young's permission, removed the universalist elements. “He was a little less certain about that being an answer and was willing to have it move in a different direction,” Jacobsen said.
He added that Young's subsequent work has, in his estimation, “moved back more into a universalist point of view.” Originally self-published in 2007, The Shack became a publishing phenomenon and was later adapted into a 2017 film starring Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer and Tim McGraw. The story centers on Mackenzie “Mack” Phillips, a grieving father