If it’s Tuesday, it must be Knoxville. Or maybe it’s Houston or Amarillo. William (Paul) Young has been on the road so long, he can’t be sure. Six months ago Young was working three jobs to pay the rent on his small house near Portland, Ore. Now, with 3.8 million copies of his Christian novel “The Shack” in print, Young is being hailed as a theological innovator, his book the “Pilgrim’s Progress” of the 21st century. His controversial message is one that, evidently, a lot of people want to hear. “I don’t like religion,” he says. “I think Jesus is about relationships.”
About The Author
Lisa Miller
Lisa Miller is a contributing editor at New York magazine. She is the former religion columnist for the Washington Post, former senior editor of Newsweek magazine, and author of “Heaven: Our Enduring Fascination with the Afterlife.” She is a multi-year winner of the New York Newswomen’s Club prize for feature writing and has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award.