"The Shack"

William P. Young, the author of the controversial best-seller The Shack, defended his novel against critics and told of its redemptive impact it had on his own life.

Calling himself “an accidental author,” William P. Young told a crowd of roughly 300 people Wednesday morning that the controversy surrounding his New York Times best-selling novel, which has sold more than 1 million copies since its debut last year, was “good.”

Critics have accused The Shack—about a man who encounters God at the scene of a past personal tragedy—of lacking theological integrity and promoting unorthodox theories. Well-known author and radio commentator Charles Colson has been the most vocal in warning people to avoid the book because of its low view of Scripture.

But Young said the fictional story was not written as systematic theology. “It’s a parable or a metaphor,” Young told author and radio host Chris Fabry during a 10-minute interview for a mock radio program. “Tell Chuck Colson that it’s not an allegory.”

His comment drew laughs, but Young was more somber as he discussed how he was sexually abused as a child of missionaries while attending boarding school in New Guinea. Young shared that he recently received a call from the main perpetrator of his abuse, who asked for his forgiveness after reading The Shack. “It was wonderful and [peaceful],” Young said as he fought back tears.