The Gospel According to Peanuts by Robert L. Short

(36)Īn example of a theological insight Short shares: LINUS: I think I know just what you mean. These are the two forces which are constantly at war with each other. LUCY: This Linus is a picture of the human heart! One side is filled with hate and the other side is filled with love.

LUCY: The whole trouble with you is you won't listen to what the whole trouble with you is! (30-1)Īnd here's another that reminds us of Paul's letter to the Romans: LUCY: You know what the whole trouble with you is, Charlie Brown?ĬHARLIE BROWN: No and I don't want to know! Leave me alone! Each of the characters reveals the lostness-the blindness-of human nature itself. Short argues that original sin can easily be seen as the background for the Peanuts strip. Christ himself usually seemed to presuppose this view of human nature. The original sinfulness of man-all men-is almost taken for granted by the New Testament it is the background for almost everything the New Testament says. In particular I loved 'The Whole Trouble: Original Sin,' 'The Wages of Sin is Aaughh!' and 'Good Grief.' I really loved the middle chapters of this one. Instead of coming straight to the point and writing in English, the author offers his argument that essentially says a) comic strips can be important cultural indicators, a type of ART that should not be ignored but engaged in b) Peanuts is well worth reading because there are theological lessons to be found c) Christians often have a hard time communicating with the world in ways that the world can understand, if Christians engage in the culture they can better communicate the gospel in ways-in words and actions-that the world will be more likely to listen and respond. The first chapter suffers from being overly scholarly and long-winded. If you can make it past the first chapter of this one, I think you'll enjoy reading this one. The chapters are: 'The Church and the Arts,' 'The Whole Trouble: Original Sin,' 'The Wages of Sin is Aaughh!', 'Good Grief,' 'The Hound of Heaven,' and 'Concluding Unscientific Postcript.'

My thoughts: The Gospel According to Peanuts is a short book, just six chapters in length. Premise/plot: Are there theological lessons to be learned from engaging (reading thoughtfully) in the comic strip Peanuts? Short says YES, and this book is his argument why Christians should engage with the culture of the world. 137:4) is a question the Church, always finding itself in but not of the world, urgently needs to reconsider today. įirst sentence: 'How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?' (Ps.

The Gospel According to Peanuts by Robert L. Short