Two days ago I said I wanted to look at a post made by Steve, from Back to the Mountains, in regards to theology in Andrew Peterson’s book, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness.
Book Spoilers follow!
I should start by saying I think it’s great when reviewers look at theology when they judge a book. We all do have a theological bent–we all believe something about God–and it does come out in our books. And when we read we shouldn’t read mindlessly, allowing all things to go in without
scrutiny. So I think we should look at theology in books.
What caught my attention about Steve’s evaluation was this part:
I do wonder about the nature of the Fangs: are they more or less demons–the designated damned? Or can they be saved? And what is salvation here anyway? (The humans evidently derive in some way from Adam, so they do need a savior.)
I read the story as a fairytale of sorts. In fairytales the fairy godmother is a stand-in for God. She can do miracles, she’s loving, she’s to be obeyed, she’s wise.
In Andrew’s book we didn’t have a fairy godmother. We had a Creator. And he’s not nearly as big a character as most fairy godmothers are. So I read the story thinking that the Creator is a little less than a fairy godmother and mostly there to show that the kids aren’t looking within themselves to find the power to do good. They are dependent upon a creator.
But nowhere does the story deal with the wages of sin being death, as far as I can remember. The god of the story world is a creator and one who apparently is able and willing to help his creatures when he’s called upon. But I don’t see any Christ figure or any need of a Christ figure at this point. We can see Christ in Peet who is humble and takes the position of a slave and who continues to love even when he’s reviled (and who is a big, bad, fighting machine when it comes to trouncing his enemies). That’s huge. But it’s not like Peet is the incarnate son of the Creator in the book. There is no Son, as far as we can tell, and no eternal damnation for sin.
That world is not earth. It’s long, long ago, in a kingdom far away. I never considered that the Igibys were descended from Adam. And I think to try to fit them into our world makes us miss the joy in the story as well as the lessons. If we are looking to see if the lizard men are demons and if the grandfather is going to hell or not, we miss the beauty of Peet’s love and Leeli’s compassion and Janner’s growth and his acceptance of his calling.
I don’t think it’s possible or wise to try to fit the gospel into every book. Even Jesus when he spoke the parables did so to illustrate one point. He didn’t try to fit all the theology he knew into one small story.
I think Andrew illustrated several things really well with his story.
- We shouldn’t judge by appearances–Peet looked dangerous but he was willing to die to save the children.
- God has a place for us and we are happiest when we accept our place–Janner is still in the process of learning this, I think.
- God treasures us and all that he gives us to do and all that he withholds from us is meant to fit us for our place in his royal household–That, I think is the main message of this book. Trust God. You are his royal son. He loves you and he is fitting you to take your place in the kingdom. It is an exalted place, for you are the beloved son. And you can follow him into the hard places knowing he treasures you and he is able to protect you and he knows what’s best for you.
No there is nothing that says we are only beloved because Christ died for us and purchased our place at the table. There is nothing that says that we will go to hell if we refuse to repent and embrace the Son. That was not in the scope of this book as far as I could see.
Should it have been?
I gotta run take the kids to youth group. More on this on Friday.
