I recently read the novel The Shack by Wm. Paul Young, and while I wish to be fair with some of my concerns (especially since interviews with the author say he had no intention of sending certain messages) one of the most disturbing theological issues with the novel hit hard against my evening Psalm reading after I had just placed the book aside for the night.
Probably few of you by this point are unfamiliar with the widely popular novel and film, but the premise of The Shack is that a grieving father there confronts the three persons of the trinity who help to explain to him the theology of suffering and why he can still believe God is good amidst sorrow. Most of my discomfort with the novel focused on all three persons of the trinity being represented in bodily forms: Jesus as a middle eastern man, the Holy Spirit as a shimmering Asian woman, and God the Father as a warm and loving black woman. Jesus as a middle eastern man is spot on in my opinion, but depicting the Holy Spirit and God the Father in any human shape, to me, equals blasphemy and idolatry. Neither of these persons of the Godhead ever take on human form within the scriptures, and the depiction of God coming to the aide of his suffering servant in Psalm 18 only solidified my conerns.
Within this Psalm, the LORD is seen coming in earthquake, fire, and hail to address the pain ridden distress call of one of his saints. His voice is that of thunder. Lightning follows his movements. And while there is some anthropomorphic language within the Psalm (such as giving him nostrils) even those moments are cloaked in fire and smoke.
Much like Sinai.
After God miraculously frees his people from Egypt with mighty wonders of fire, blood, and judgement, he brings them to Sinai to give them instructions on how to be near to him. This is how he begins their encounter.
“On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.”
Exodus 19:16-19
This is similar to encounters between God and His people in multiple other accounts in the scriptures, even specifically to those who are greatly suffering such as Job (Job 38 – 41) and even a depressed and almost suicidal Elijah (I Kings 19). And lest you think my examples partial, there are even examples from the New Testament, such as at the transfiguration, where God thunders His approval of His Son.
“And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, ‘This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”
Mark 9:7
Less fire, yes, but still clouds, shadows, and a disembodied voice. God has no body. He is completely other, completely Holy. And scripture warns about robbing God of his holiness, of placing him in the form of anything made. He calls it “idolatry.” That was part of the purpose of Christ coming in human form. To show God’s grace and humility in love by his willingness to enter into humanity as a human.
So by all means, depict Christ in human form. But by purposefully showing all three members of the trinity in human form, you rob the Godhead of all His otherness. You turn Him into something common and familiar as a block of wood. You rob him of His power, the power that we all rely on to bring all the sin and pain and injustice of this fallen world to nothing. Without the thunder of His judgement how can he bring the Prince of the Power of this Age into submission under His feet. It is His power and might, the thunder and smoke, that gives us the comfort of His complete control over the storms of our lives. By sending fire and hail, He shows His control of the elements. It shows that He has the power to keep His promises. And Christ’s advent as God in human flesh, shows us He has the love and mercy to keep His promises to us.
“I am the LORD; that is my name, my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.”
Isaiah 42:8
Rachel Svendsen 
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