I just read an article in the January/February issue of Christianity Today by children’s author, N. D. Wilson entitled, Why Kids Need a Dose of Darkness. I love this quote:
“In the Christian world, stories laced with dark content—especially for children—will always spook whole flocks of eyebrows into concerned flight. The ‘content’ of a book or film is parsed out, every bit of shadow flagged and sniffed at by mothers like they’ve discovered a malicious growth hormone in a suspicious chicken nugget.”
Are we too overprotective when it comes to the books we as Christians allow our kids to read? Don’t get me wrong. Children need to be protected from much of the evil in the world. But we can’t shield them from reality. They need to learn about the real world from a Christian perspective. We must show them that redemption comes out of darkness. A story of redemption can’t be written if there is nothing that needs redeeming.
I learned a lot as I researched the topic of slavery for my book, When It’s Dark Enough, You Can See the Stars. I never realized how cruel and inhumane slavery was, and how ingrained in the American conscience it had become. Freedom in America came at an incredible price, whether we are talking about the Civil War for the emancipation of African-Americans, or foreign wars our soldiers have fought to preserve democracy. Should we gloss over history and protect our kids from learning the terrible cost of freedom? Of course not. Neither should we shelter our kids from the struggle of good against evil in the world of fiction.
N.D. Wilson says that God’s artistic choices should govern our own. We should tell stories the way God does. Wasn’t Daniel rescued from the lions’ den? Didn’t Shadrak, Meshak and Abednego get thrown in the fiery furnace for refusing to bow to another god? What gave young David the courage to fight the giant? We cannot protect our kids from all that’s evil in this world, but we can give them weapons to fight their own war. Part of that arsenal includes exciting fiction with a redemptive theme. Stories are like parables. They teach through example. We all learn more through what others model than we do through a well-crafted sermon. Through fiction, we can teach our kids godly principles that govern life without preaching to them. And they have fun in the process.
1 Response to "I’ll Get You My Pretty!"
WOAH, Cindy, you could not have said this better. And please forgive me now if this comment ends up being 500 words or more, but you have just joined me atop my own personal soapbox. In my circles I run into so many college kids who have no concept of fighting battles, overcoming, or taking a stand, because they’ve been raised in Christian families who have inadvertently taught them that peace is found in the absence of evil. God says peace is found in the midst of the storm.